FROM-THE-LIBRARY-OF
TRINITYCOLLEGETORONTO
HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
VOLUME III
HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH
BY
SIR CHARLES ELIOT
In three volumes
VOLUME III
HOUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LTD
Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane,
London, E.G. 4.
C A,,
First pubiished 1921
Reprinted 1954
Reprinted 1957
Reprinted 1962
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
LUND HUMPHRIES
LONDON ' BRADFORD
APR 5 1967
"75188
CONTENTS
BOOK VI
BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA
CHAPTER PAGE
XXXIV. EXPANSION OF INDIAN INFLUENCE ... 3
XXXV. CEYLON 11
XXXVI. BURMA 46
XXXVII. SIAM 78
XXXVIII. CAMBOJA 100
XXXIX. CHAMPA 137
XL. JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO . . . 151
XLI. CENTRAL ASIA 188
XLII. CHINA. INTRODUCTORY 223
XLIII. CHINA (continued). HISTORY .... 244
XLIV. CHINA (continued). THE CANON . . . ,281
XLV. CHINA (continued). SCHOOLS OF CHINESE BUDDHISM 303
XL VI. CHINA (continued). CHINESE BUDDHISM AT THE
PRESENT DAY 321
XLVII. KOREA 336
XLVIII. ANNAM 340
XLIX. TIBET. INTRODUCTORY . . . . . 345
L. TIBET (continued). HISTORY .... 347
LI. TIBET (continued). THE CANON .... 372
LII. TIBET (continued). DOCTRINES OF LAMAISM . . 382
LIII. TIBET (continued). SECTS 397
LIV. JAPAN . 402
iv CONTENTS
BOOK VII
MUTUAL INFLUENCE OF EASTERN
AND WESTERN RELIGIONS
CHAPTEE PAGE
LV. INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA . . . 409
LVI. INDIAN INFLUENCE IN THE WESTERN WORLD . 429
LVII. PERSIAN INFLUENCE IN INDIA .... 449
LVIII. MOHAMMEDANISM IN INDIA 455
INDEX , 463
BOOK VI
BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA
CHAPTER XXXIV
EXPANSION OF INDIAN INFLUENCE
INTRODUCTORY
THE subject of this Book is the expansion of Indian influence
throughout Eastern Asia and the neighbouring islands. That
influence is clear and wide -spread, nay almost universal, and it
is with justice that we speak of Further India and the Dutch
call their colonies Neerlands Indie. For some early chapters in
the story of this expansion the dates and details are meagre,
but on the whole the investigator's chief difficulty is to grasp
and marshal the mass of facts relating to the development of
religion and civilization in this great region.
The spread of Hindu thought was an intellectual conquest,
not an exchange of ideas. On the north-western frontier there
was some reciprocity, but otherwise the part played by India
was consistently active and not receptive. The Far East counted
for nothing in her internal history, doubtless because China was
too distant and the other countries had no special culture of
their own. Still it is remarkable that whereas many Hindu
missionaries preached Buddhism in China, the idea of making
Confucianism known in India seems never to have entered the
head of any Chinese.
It is correct to say that the sphere of India's intellectual
conquests was the East and North, not the West, but still
Buddhism spread considerably to the west of its original home
and entered Persia. Stein discovered a Buddhist monastery in
" the terminal marshes of the Helmund " in Seistan1 and Bamian
is a good distance from our frontier. But in Persia and its
border lands there were powerful state religions, first Zoro-
astrianism and then Islam, which disliked and hindered the im
portation of foreign creeds and though we may see some
resemblance between Sufis and Vedantists, it does not appear
that the Moslim civilization of Iran owed much to Hinduism.
1 Oeog. Jour. Aug., 1916, p. 362.
4 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
But in all Asia north and east of India, excluding most of
Siberia but including the Malay Archipelago, Indian influence
is obvious. Though primarily connected with religion it includes
much more, such as architecture, painting and other arts, an
Indian alphabet, a vocabulary of Indian words borrowed or
translated, legends and customs. The whole life of such diverse
countries as Tibet, Burma, and Java would have been different
had they had no connection with India.
In these and many other regions the Hindus must have
found a low state of civilization, but in the Far East they en
countered a culture comparable with their own. There was no
question of colonizing or civilizing rude races. India and China
met as equals, not hostile but also not congenial, a priest and a
statesman, and the statesman made large concessions to the
priest. Buddhism produced a great fermentation and contro
versy in Chinese thought, but though its fortunes varied it
hardly ever became as in Burma and Ceylon the national
religion. It was, as a Chinese Emperor once said, one of the
two wings of a bird. The Chinese characters did not give way
to an Indian alphabet nor did the Confucian Classics fall into
desuetude. The subjects of Chinese and Japanese pictures may
be Buddhist, the plan and ornaments of their temples Indian,
yet judged as works of art the pictures and temples are indige
nous. But for all that one has only to compare the China of the
Hans with the China of the T'angs to see how great was the
change wrought by India.
This outgrowing of Indian influence, so long continued and
so wide in extent, was naturally not the result of any one im
pulse. At no time can we see in India any passion of discovery,
any fever of conquest such as possessed Europe when the New
World and the route to the East round the Cape were discovered.
India's expansion was slow, generally peaceful and attracted
little attention at home. Partly it was due to the natural per
meation and infiltration of a superior culture beyond its own
borders, but it is equally natural that this gradual process
should have been sometimes accelerated by force of arms. The
Hindus produced no Tamerlanes or Babers, but a series of
expeditions, spread over long ages, but stiD not few in number,
carried them to such distant goals as Ceylon, Java and
Camboja.
xxxiv] EXPANSION OF INDIAN INFLUENCE 5
But the diffusion of Indian influence, especially in China,
was also due to another agency, namely religious propaganda
and the deliberate despatch of missions. These missions seem
to have been exclusively Buddhist for wherever we find records
of Hinduism outside India, for instance in Java and Camboja,
the presence of Hindu conquerors or colonists is also recorded1.
Hinduism accompanied Hindus and sometimes spread round
their settlements, but it never attempted to convert distant and
alien lands. But the Buddhists had from the beginning the true
evangelistic temper: they preached to all the world and in
singleness of purpose : they had no political support from India.
Many as were the charges brought against them by hostile
Confucians, it was never suggested that they sought political or
commercial privileges for their native land. It was this simple
disinterested attitude which enabled Buddhism, though in many
ways antipathetic to the Far East, to win its confidence.
Ceylon is the first place where we have a record of the intro
duction of Indian civilization and its entry there illustrates all
the phenomena mentioned above, infiltration, colonization and
propaganda. The island is close to the continent and communi
cation with the Tamil country easy, but though there has long
been a large Tamil population with its own language, religion
and temples, the fundamental civilization is not Tamil. A
Hindu called Vijaya who apparently started from the region of
Broach about 500 B.C. led an expedition to Ceylon and intro
duced a western Hindu language. Intercourse with the north
was doubtless maintained, for in the reign of Asoka we find the
King of Ceylon making overtures to him and receiving with
enthusiasm the missionaries whom he sent. It is possible that
southern India played a greater part in this conversion than the
accepted legend indicates, for we hear of a monastery built by
Mahinda near Tan j ore2. But still language, monuments and
tradition attest the reality of the connection with northern
India.
It is in Asoka's reign too that we first hear of Indian influence
spreading northwards. His Empire included Nepal and Kashmir,
1 The presence of Brahmans at the Courts of Burma and Siam is a different
matter. They were expressly invited as more skilled in astrology and state cere
monies than Buddhists.
2 Watters, Yuan Chuang, vol. n. p. 228.
6 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
he sent missionaries to the region of Himavanta, meaning
apparently the southern slopes of the Himalayas, and to the
Kambojas, an ambiguous race who were perhaps the inhabitants
of Tibet or its border lands. The Hindu Kush seems to have
been the limit of his dominions but tradition ascribes to this
period the joint colonization of Khotan from India and China.
Sinhalese and Burmese traditions also credit him with the
despatch of missionaries who converted Suvarnabhumi or Pegu.
No mention of this has been found in his own inscriptions, and
European critics have treated it with not unnatural scepticism
for there is little indication that Asoka paid much attention to
the eastern frontiers of his Empire. Still I think the question
should be regarded as being sub judice rather than as answered
in the negative.
Indian expeditions to the East probably commenced, if not
in the reign of Asoka, at least before our era. The Chinese
Annals1 state that Indian Embassies reached China by sea
about 50 B.C. and the Questions of Milinda allude to trade by
this route: the Ramayana mentions Java and an inscription
seems to testify that a Hindu king was reigning in Champa
(Annam) about 150 A.D. These dates are not so precise as one
could wish, but if there was a Hindu kingdom in that distant
region in the second century it was probably preceded by settle
ments in nearer halting places, such as the Isthmus of Kra2 or
Java, at a considerably anterior date, although the inscriptions
discovered there are not earlier than the fifth century A.D.
Java seems to have left some trace in Indian tradition, for
instance the proverb that those who go to Java do not come
back, and it may have been an early distributing centre for
men and merchandize in those seas. But Ligor probably marks
a still earlier halting place. It is on the same coast as the Mon
kingdom of Thaton, which had connection with Conjevaram by
sea and was a centre of Pali Buddhism. At any rate there was
a movement of conquest and colonization in these regions which
brought with it Hinduism and Mahayanism, and established
Hindu kingdoms in Java, Camboja, Champa and Borneo, and
another movement of Hinayanist propaganda, apparently
1 But not contemporary Annals. The Liang Annals make the statement about
the reign of Hsiian Li 73-49 B.C.
2 Especially at Ligor or Dharmaraja.
xxxiv] EXPANSION OF INDIAN INFLUENCE 7
earlier, but of which we know less1. Though these expeditions
both secular and religious probably took ship on the east coast
of India, e.g. at Masulipatam or the Seven Pagodas, yet their
original starting point may have been in the west, such as the
district of Badami or even Gujarat, for there were trade routes
across the Indian Peninsula at an early date2.
It is curious that the early history of Burma should be so
obscure and in order not to repeat details and hypotheses I
refer the reader to the chapter dealing specially with this
country. From an early epoch Upper Burma had connection
with China and Bengal by land and Lower Burma with Orissa
and Conjevaram by sea. We know too that Pali Buddhism
existed there in the sixth century, that it gained greatly in
power in the reign of Anawrata (c. 1060) and that in subsequent
centuries there was a close ecclesiastical connection with Ceylon.
Siam as a kingdom is relatively modern but like Burma it
has been subject to several influences. The Siamese probably
brought some form of Buddhism with them when they de
scended from the north to their present territories. From the
Cambojans, their neighbours and at one time their suzerains,
they must have acquired some Hinduism and Mahayanism,
but they ended by adopting Hinayanism. The source was
probably Pegu but learned men from Ligor were also welcomed
and the ecclesiastical pre-eminence of Ceylon was accepted.
We thus see how Indian influence conquered Further India
and the Malay Archipelago and we must now trace its flow across
Central Asia to China and Japan, as well as the separate and
later stream which irrigated Tibet and Mongolia.
Tradition as mentioned ascribes to Asoka some connection
with Khotan and it is probable that by the beginning of our
era the lands of the Oxus and Tarim had become Buddhist and
acquired a mixed civilization in which the Indian factor was
large. As usual it is difficult to give precise dates, but Buddhism
probably reached China by land a little before rather than
after our era and the prevalence of Gandharan art in the cities
of the Tarim basin makes it likely that their efflorescence was
not far removed in time from the Gandharan epoch of India.
1 The statement of I-Ching that a wicked king destroyed Buddhism in Funan
is important.
2 See Fleet in J.R.A.S. 1901, p. 548.
8 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
The discovery near Khotan of official documents written in
Prakrit makes colonization as well as religious missions probable.
Further, although the movements of Central Asian tribes com
monly took the form of invading India, yet the current of
culture was, on the whole, in the opposite direction. The
Kushans and others brought with them a certain amount of
Zoroastrian theology and Hellenistic art, but the compound
resulting from the mixture of these elements with Buddhism was
re-exported to the north and to China.
I shall discuss below the grounds for believing that Buddhism
was known in China before A.D. 62, the date when the Emperor
Ming Ti is said to have despatched a mission to enquire about
it. For some time many of its chief luminaries were immigrants
from Central Asia and it made its most rapid progress in that
disturbed period of the third and fourth centuries when North
China was split up into contending Tartar states which both in
race and politics were closely connected with Central Asia.
Communication with India by land became frequent and there
was also communication vid the Malay Archipelago, especially
after the fifth century, when a double stream of Buddhist
teachers began to pour into China by sea as well as by land.
A third tributary joined them later when Khubilai, the Mongol
conqueror of China, made Lamaism, or Tibetan Buddhism, the
state religion.
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of late Indian Mahayanism with
a considerable admixture of Hinduism, exported from Bengal
to Tibet and there modified not so much in doctrine as by the
creation of a powerful hierarchy, curiously analogous to the
Roman Church. It is unknown in southern China and not much
favoured by the educated classes in the north, but the Lamaist
priesthood enjoys great authority in Tibet and Mongolia, and
both the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties did their best to conciliate
it for political reasons. Lamaism has borrowed little from
China and must be regarded as an invasion into northern Asia
and even Europe1 of late Indian religion and art, somewhat
modified by the strong idiosyncrasy of the Tibetan people. This
northern movement was started by the desire of imitation, not
of conquest. At the beginning of the seventh century the King
1 There are settlements of Kalmuks near Astrakhan who have Lama temples
and maintain a connection with Tibet.
xxxiv] EXPANSION OF INDIAN INFLUENCE 9
of Tibet, who had dealings with both India and China, sent a
mission to the former to enquire about Buddhism and in the
eighth and eleventh centuries eminent doctors were summoned
from India to establish the faith and then to restore it after a
temporary eclipse.
In Korea, Annam, and especially in Japan, Buddhism has
been a great ethical, religious and artistic force and in this
sense those countries owe much to India. Yet there was little
direct communication and what they received came to them
almost entirely through China. The ancient Champa was a
Hindu kingdom analogous to Camboja, but modern Annam
represents not a continuation of this civilization but a later
descent of Chinese culture from the north. Japan was in close
touch with the Chinese just at the period when Buddhism was
fermenting their whole intellectual life and Japanese thought
and art grew up in the glow of this new inspiration, which was
more intense than in China because there was no native antagon
ist of the same strength as Confucianism.
In the following chapters I propose to discuss the history of
Indian influence in the various countries of Eastern Asia,
taking Ceylon first, followed by Burma and Siam. Whatever
may have been the origin of Buddhism in these two latter they
have had for many centuries a close ecclesiastical connection
with Ceylon. Pali Buddhism prevails in all, as well as in modern
Camboja.
The Indian religion which prevailed in ancient Camboja was
however of a different type and similar to that of Champa and
Java. In treating of these Hindu kingdoms I have wondered
whether I should not begin with Java and adopt the hypothesis
that the settlements established there sent expeditions to the
mainland and Borneo1. But the history of Java is curiously
fragmentary whereas the copious inscriptions of Camboja and
Champa combined with Chinese notices give a fairly continuous
chronicle. And a glance at the map will show that if there were
Hindu colonists at Ligor it would have been much easier for
1 The existence of a Hindu kingdom on the East Coast of Borneo in 400 A.D.
or earlier is a strong argument in favour of colonization from Java. Expeditions
from any other quarter would naturally have gone to the West Coast. Also there is
some knowledge of Java in India, but apparently none of Camboja or Champa.
This suggests that Java may have been the first halting place and kept up some
slight connection with the mother country.
10 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH. xxxiv
them to go across the Gulf of Siam to Camboja than via Java.
I have therefore not adopted the hypothesis of expansion from
Java (while also not rejecting it) nor followed any chronological
method but have treated of Camboja first, as being the Hindu
state of which on the whole we know most and then of Champa
and Java in comparison with it.
In the later sections of the book I consider the expansion of
Indian influence in the north. A chapter on Central Asia
endeavours to summarize our rapidly increasing knowledge of
this meeting place of nations. Its history is closely connected
with China and naturally leads me to a somewhat extended
review of the fortunes and achievements of Buddhism in that
great land, and also to a special study of Tibet and of Lamaism.
I have treated of Nepal elsewhere. For the history of religion
it is not a new province, but simply the extreme north of the
Indian region where the last phase of decadent Indian Buddhism
which practically disappeared in Bengal still retains a nominal
existence.
CHAPTER XXXV
CEYLON
1
THE island of Ceylon, perhaps the most beautiful tropical
country in the world, lies near the end of the Indian peninsula
but a little to the east. At one point a chain of smaller islands
and rocks said to have been built by Rama as a passage for his
army of monkeys leads to the mainland. It is therefore natural
that the population should have relations with southern India.
Sinhalese art, religion and language show traces of Tamil influ
ence but it is somewhat surprising to find that in these and in
all departments of civilization the influence of northern India
is stronger. The traditions which explain the connection of
Ceylon with this distant region seem credible and the Sinhalese,
who were often at war with the Tamils, were not disposed
to imitate their usages, although juxtaposition and invasion
brought about much involuntary resemblance.
The school of Buddhism now professed in Ceylon, Burma
and Siam is often called Sinhalese and (provided it is not implied
that its doctrines originated in Ceylon) the epithet is correct.
For the school ceased to exist in India and in the middle ages
both Burma and Siam accepted the authority of the Sinhalese
Sangha1. This Sinhalese school seems to be founded on the
doctrines and scriptures accepted in the time of Asoka in
Magadha and though the faith may have been codified and
supplemented in its new home, I see no evidence that it under
went much corruption or even development. One is inclined at
first to think that the Hindus, having a continuous living
tradition connecting them with Gotama who was himself a
Hindu, were more likely than these distant islanders to pre
serve the spirit of his teaching. But there is another side to
1 E.g. Burma in the reign of Anawrata and later in the time of Chapata about
1200, and Siam in the time of Suryavamsa Rama, 1361. On the other hand in 1752
the Sinhalese succession was validated by obtaining monks from Burma.
E. m. 2
12 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
the question. The Hindus being addicted to theological and
metaphysical studies produced original thinkers who, if not able
to found new religions, at least modified what their predecessors
had laid down. If certain old texts were held in too high esteem
to be neglected, the ingenuity of the commentator rarely failed
to reinterpret them as favourable to the views popular in his
time. But the Sinhalese had not this passion for theology. So
far as we can judge of them in earlier periods they were endowed
with an amiable and receptive but somewhat indolent tempera
ment, moderate gifts in art and literature and a moderate love
and understanding of theology. Also their chiefs claimed to
have come from northern India and were inclined to accept
favourably anything which had the same origin. These are
exactly the surroundings in which a religion can flourish without
change for many centuries and Buddhism in Ceylon acquired
stability because it also acquired a certain national and patriotic
flavour : it was the faith of the Sinhalese and not of the invading
Tamils. Such Sinhalese kings as had the power protected the
Church and erected magnificent buildings for its service.
If Sinhalese tradition may be believed, the first historical
contact with northern India was the expedition of Vijaya, who
with 700 followers settled in the island about the time of the
Buddha's death. Many details of the story are obviously in
vented. Thus in order to explain why Ceylon is called Sinhala,
Vijaya is made the grandson of an Indian princess who lived
with a lion. But though these legends inspire mistrust, it is a
fact that the language of Ceylon in its earliest known form is
a dialect closely connected with Pali (or rather with the spoken
dialect from which ecclesiastical Pali was derived) and still
more closely with the Maharashtri Prakrit of western India. It
is not however a derivative of this Prakrit but parallel to it and
in some words presents older forms1. It does not seem possible
to ascribe the introduction of this language to the later mission
of Mahinda, for, though Buddhist monks have in many countries
influenced literature and the literary vocabulary, no instance is
recorded of their changing the popular speech2. But Vijaya is
said to have conquered Ceylon and to have slaughtered many
1 Geiger, Literatur und Sprache der Singhalesen, p. 91.
2 Compare the history of Khotan. The first Indian colonists seem to have
introduced a Prakrit dialect. Buddhism and Sanskrit came afterwards.
xxxv] CEYLON 13
of its ancient inhabitants, called Yakkhas1, of whom we know
little except that Sinhalese contains some un-Aryan words
probably borrowed from them. According to the Dipavamsa2,
Vijaya started from Bharukaccha or Broach and both language
and such historical facts as we know confirm the tradition that
some time before the third century B.C. Ceylon was conquered
by Indian immigrants from the west coast.
It would not be unreasonable to suppose that Vijaya intro
duced into Ceylon the elements of Buddhism, but there is little
evidence to indicate that it was a conspicuous form of religion
in India in his time. Sinhalese tradition maintains that not only
Gotama himself but also the three preceding Buddhas were
miraculously transported to Ceylon and made arrangements for
its conversion. Gotama is said to have paid no less than three
visits3: all are obviously impossible and were invented to en
hance the glory of the island. But the legends which relate how
Panduvasudeva came from India to succeed Vijaya, how he
subsequently had a Sakya princess brought over from India to
be his wife and how her brothers established cities in Ceylon4,
if not true in detail, are probably true in spirit in so far as they
imply that the Sinhalese kept up intercourse with India and
were familiar with the principal forms of Indian religion. Thus
we are told5 that King Pandukabhaya built religious edifices
for Niganthas (Jains), Brahmans, Paribbajakas (possibly Budd
hists) and Ajivikas. When Devanampiya Tissa ascended the
throne (circ. 245 B.C.) he sent a complimentary mission bearing
wonderful treasures to Asoka with whom he was on friendly
terms, although they had never met. This implies that the
kingdom of Magadha was known and respected in Ceylon, and
we hear that the mission included a Brahman. The answer
attributed to Asoka will surprise no one acquainted with the
inscriptions of that pious monarch. He said that he had taken
1 Literally demons, that is wild uncanny men. I refrain from discussing the
origin and ethnological position of the Vaeddas for it hardly affects the history of
Buddhism in Ceylon. For Vijaya's conquests see Mahavamsa vn.
2 ix. 26.
3 Dipavamsa i. 45-81, n. 1-69. Mahavamsa i. 19-83. The legend that the
Buddha visited Ceylon and left his footprint on Adam's peak is at least as old as
Buddhaghosa. See Samanta-pasadika in Oldenburg's Vinaya Pitaka, vol. m, p. 332
and the quotations in Skeen's Adam's Peak, p. 50.
4 Dipa, v. x. 1-9. Mahavamsa vm. 1-27, ix. 1-12.
5 Mahavamsa x. 96, 102.
14 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
refuge in the law of Buddha and advised the King of Ceylon to
find salvation in the same way. He also sent magnificent
presents consisting chiefly of royal insignia and Tissa was
crowned for the second time, which probably means that he
became not only the disciple but the vassal of Asoka.
In any case the records declare that the Indian Emperor
showed the greatest solicitude for the spiritual welfare of Ceylon
and, though they are obviously embellished, there is no reason
to doubt their substantial accuracy1. The Sinhalese tradition
agrees on the whole with the data supplied by Indian inscrip
tions and Chinese pilgrims. The names of missionaries mentioned
in the Dipa and Mahavamsas recur on urns found at Sanchi
and on its gateways are pictures in relief which appear to
represent the transfer of a branch of the Bo-tree in solemn pro
cession to some destination which, though unnamed, may be
conjectured to be Ceylon2. The absence of Mahinda's name in
Asoka's inscriptions is certainly suspicious, but the Sinhalese
chronicles give the names of other missionaries correctly and
a mere argumentum ex silentio cannot disprove their testimony
on this important point.
The principal repositories of Sinhalese tradition are the
Dipavamsa, the Mahavamsa, and the historical preface of
Buddhaghosa's Samanta-pasadika3. All later works are founded
on these three, so far as concerns the conversion of Ceylon and
the immediately subsequent period, and the three works appear
to be rearrangements of a single source known as the Atthakatha,
Sihalatthakatha, or the words of the Porana (ancients). These
names were given to commentaries on the Tipitaka written in
Sinhalese prose interspersed with Pali verse and several of the
greater monasteries had their own editions of them, including
a definite historical section4. It is probable that at the beginning
of the fifth century A.D. and perhaps in the fourth century the
old Sinhalese in which the prose parts of the Atthakatha were
1 For the credibility of the Sinhalese traditions see Geiger introd. to translation
of Mahavamsa 1912 and Norman in J.R.A.S. 1908, pp. 1 ff. and on the other side
R. 0. Franke in W.Z.K.M, 21, pp. 203 ff., 317 ff. and Z.D.M.G. 63, pp. 540 ff.
2 G runwedel, Buddhist art in India, pp. 69-72. Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, p. 302.
3 The Jataka-nidana-katha is also closely allied to these works in those parts
where the subject matter is the same.
4 This section was probably called Mahavainsa in a general sense long before
the name was specially applied to the work which now bears it.
xxxv] CEYLON 15
written was growing unintelligible, and that it was becoming
more and more the fashion to use Pali as the language of ecclesi
astical literature, for at least three writers set themselves to
turn part of the traditions not into the vernacular but into Pali.
The earliest and least artistic is the unknown author of the short
chronicle called Dipavamsa, who wrote between 302 A.D. and
430 A.D.1 His work is weak both as a specimen of Pali and as
a narrative and he probably did little but patch together the
Pali verses occurring from time to time in the Sinhalese prose
of the Atthakatha. Somewhat later, towards the end of the
fifth century, a certain Mahanama arranged the materials out
of which the Dipavamsa had been formed in a more consecutive
and artistic form, combining ecclesiastical and popular legends2.
His work, known as the Mahavamsa, does not end with the
reign of Elara, like the Dipavamsa, but describes in 15 more
chapters the exploits of Dutthagamani and his successors ending
withMahasena3. The third writer, Buddhaghosa, apparently lived
between the authors of the two chronicles. His voluminous literary
activity will demand our attention later but so far as history is
concerned his narrative is closely parallel to the Mahavamsa4.
The historical narrative is similar in all three works. After
the Council of Pataliputra, Moggaliputta, who had presided
over it, came to the conclusion that the time had come to
despatch missionaries to convert foreign countries. Sinhalese
tradition represents this decision as emanating from Moggali
putta whereas the inscriptions of Asoka imply that the king
himself initiated the momentous project. But the difference is
small. We cannot now tell to whom the great idea first occurred
but it must have been carried out by the clergy with the
assistance of Asoka, the apostle selected for Ceylon was his5
1 See introduction to Oldenburg's edition, pp. 8, 9.
a Perhaps this is alluded to at the beginning of the Mahavamsa itself, "The
book made by the ancients (porvanehi kato) was in some places too diffuse and in
others too condensed and contained many repetitions."
3 The Mahavanisa was continued by later writers and brought down to about
1780 A.D.
4 The Mahavanisatika, a commentary written between 1000 and 1250 A.D., has
also some independent value because the old Atthakatha-Mahavamsa was still
extant and used by the writer.
6 Son according to the Sinhalese sources but according to Hsiian Chuang and
others, younger brother. In favour of the latter it may be said that the younger
brothers of kings often became monks in order to avoid political complications.
16 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
near relative Mahinda who according to the traditions of the
Sinhalese made his way to their island through the air with six
companions. The account of Hsiian Chuang hints at a less
miraculous mode of progression for he speaks of a monastery
built by Mahinda somewhere near Tan j ore.
The legend tells how Mahinda and his following alighted on
the Missaka mountain1 whither King Devanampiya Tissa had
gone in the course of a hunt. The monks and the royal cortege
met: Mahinda, after testing the king's intellectual capacity by
some curious dialectical puzzles, had no difficulty in converting
him2. Next morning he proceeded to Anuradhapura and was
received with all honour and enthusiasm. He preached first in
the palace and then to enthusiastic audiences of the general
public. In these discourses he dwelt chiefly on the terrible
punishment awaiting sinners in future existences3.
We need not follow in detail the picturesque account of the
rapid conversion of the capital. The king made over to the
Church the Mahamegha garden and proceeded to construct a
series of religious edifices in Anuradhapura and its neighbour
hood. The catalogue of them is given in the Mahavamsa4 and
the most important was the Mahavihara monastery, which
became specially famous and influential in the history of Bud
dhism. It was situated in the Mahamegha garden close to the
Bo-tree and was regarded as the citadel of orthodoxy. Its sub
sequent conflicts with the later Abhayagiri monastery are the
chief theme of Sinhalese ecclesiastical history and our version
of the Pali Pitakas is the one which received its imprimatur.
Tissa is represented as having sent two further missions to
India. The first went in quest of relics and made its way not
only to Pataliputra but to the court of Indra, king of the gods,
and the relics obtained, of which the principal was the Buddha's
alms-bowl5, were deposited in Anuradhapura. The king then
built the Thuparama dagoba over them and there is no reason
1 The modern Mahintale.
2 The Mahavamsa implies that he had already some acquaintance with Bud
dhism. It represents him as knowing that monks do not eat in the afternoon and
as suggesting that it would be better to ordain the layman Bhandu.
8 The chronicles give with some slight divergences the names of the texts on
which his preaching was based. It is doubtless meant that he recited the Sutta
with a running exposition.
* Mahavam. xx. 17.
5 Many other places claimed to possess this relic.
xxxv] CEYLON 17
to doubt that the building which now bears this name is genuine.
The story may therefore be true to the extent that relics were
brought from India at this early period.
The second mission was despatched to bring a branch of the
tree1 under which the Buddha had sat when he obtained en
lightenment. This narrative2 is perhaps based on a more solid
substratum of fact. The chronicles connect the event with the
desire of the Princess Anula to become a nun. Women could
receive ordination only from ordained nuns and as these were
not to be found on the island it was decided to ask Asoka to
send a branch of the sacred tree and also Mahinda's sister
Sanghamitta, a religieuse of eminence. The mission was success
ful. A branch from the Bo-tree was detached, conveyed by
Asoka to the coast with much ceremony and received in Ceylon
by Tissa with equal respect. The princess accompanied it. The
Bo-tree was planted in the Meghavana garden. It may still be
seen and attracts pilgrims not only from Ceylon but from
Burma and Siam. Unlike the buildings of Anuradhapura it has
never been entirely neglected and it is clear that it has been
venerated as the Bo-tree from an early period of Sinhalese history.
Botanists consider its long life, though remarkable, not impossible
since trees of this species throw up fresh shoots from the roots near
the parent stem. The sculptures at Sanchi represent a branch of
a sacred tree being carried in procession, though no inscription at
tests its destination, and Fa-Hsiensays that he saw the tree3. The
author of the first part of the Mahavamsa clearly regards it as
already ancient, and throughout the history of Ceylon there are
references to the construction of railings and terraces to protect it.
Devanampiya Tissa probably died in 207 B.C. In 177 the
kingdom passed into the hands of Tamil monarchs who were
not Buddhists, although the chroniclers praise their justice and
the respect which they showed to the Church. The most im
portant of them, Elara, reigned for forty-four years and was
dethroned by a descendant of Tissa, called Dutthagamani 4.
1 Of course the antiquity of the Sinhalese Bo-tree is a different question from
the identity of the parent tree with the tree under which the Buddha sat.
2 Mahavam. xvm. ; Dipavam. xv. and xvi.
8 But he says nothing about Mahinda or Sanghamitta and does not support the
Mahavamsa in details.
* Duttha, meaning bad, angry or violent, apparently refers to the ferocity
shown in his struggle with the Tamils.
18 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
The exploits of this prince are recorded at such length in
the Mahavamsa (xxn.-xxxii.) as to suggest that they formed
the subject of a separate popular epic, in which he figured as
the champion of Sinhalese against the Tamils, and therefore as
a devout Buddhist. On ascending the throne he felt, like
Asoka, remorse for the bloodshed which had attended his early
life and strove to atone for it by good works, especially the
construction of sacred edifices. The most important of these
were the Lohapasada or Copper Palace and the Mahathupa or
Ruwanweli Dagoba. The former1 was a monastery roofed or
covered with copper plates. Its numerous rooms were richly
decorated and it consisted of nine storeys, of which the four
uppermost were set apart for Arhats, and the lower assigned to
the inferior grades of monks. Perhaps the nine storeys are an
exaggeration: at any rate the building suffered from fire and
underwent numerous reconstructions and modifications. King
Mahasena (301 A.D.) destroyed it and then repenting of his
errors rebuilt it, but the ruins now representing it at Anurad-
hapura, which consist of stone pillars only, date from the reign
of Parakrama Bahu I (about A.D. 1150). The immense pile known
as the Ruwanweli Dagoba, though often injured by invaders in
search of treasure, still exists. The somewhat dilapidated ex
terior is merely an outer shell, enclosing a smaller dagoba2.
This is possibly the structure erected by Dutthagamani, though
tradition says that there is a still smaller edifice inside. The
foundation and building of the original structure are related at
great length3. Crowds of distinguished monks came to see the
first stone laid, even from Kashmir and Alasanda. Some have
identified the latter name with Alexandria in Egypt, but it
probably denotes a Greek city on the Indus4. But in any case
tradition represents Buddhists from all parts of India as taking
part in the ceremony and thus recognizing the unity of Indian
and Sinhalese Buddhism.
1 Dipavamsa xix. 1. Mahavamsa xxvu. 1-48. See Fergusson, Hist. Ind.
Architecture, 1910, pp. 238, 246. I find it hard to picture such a building raised on
pillars. Perhaps it was something like the Sat-mahal-prasada at Pollanarua.
2 Parker, Ancient Ceylon, p. 282. The restoration of the Ruwanweli Dagoba was
undertaken by Buddhists in 1873.
8 Mahavamsa xxvm.-xxxi. Dutthagamani died before it was finished.
4 Mahavamsa xxix. 37. Yonanagaralasanda. The town is also mentioned as
situated on an Island in the Indus: Mil. Pan. in. 7. 4.
xxxv] CEYLON 19
Of great importance for the history of the Sinhalese Church
is the reign of Vattagamani Abhaya who after being dethroned
by Tamils recovered his kingdom and reigned for twelve years1.
He built a new monastery and dagoba known as Abhayagiri2,
which soon became the enemy of the Mahavihara and heterodox,
if the latter is to be considered orthodox. The account of the
schism given in the Mahavamsa3 is obscure, but the dispute
resulted in the Pitakas, which had hitherto been preserved
orally, being committed to writing. The council which defined
and edited the scriptures was not attended by all the monas
teries of Ceylon, but only by the monks of the Mahavihara, and
the text which they wrote down was their special version and
not universally accepted. It included the Parivara, which was
apparently a recent manual composed in Ceylon. The Maha
vamsa says no more about this schism, but the Nikaya-Sangra-
hawa4 says that the monks of the Abhayagiri monastery now
embraced the doctrines of the Vajjiputta school (one of the
seventeen branches of the Mahasanghikas) which was known in
Ceylon as the Dhammaruci school from an eminent teacher of
that name. Many pious kings followed who built or repaired
sacred edifices and Buddhism evidently flourished, but we also
hear of heresy. In the third century A.D.5 King Voharaka Tissa
suppressed6 the Vetulyas. This sect was connected with the
Abhayagiri monastery, but, though it lasted until the twelfth
century, I have found no Sinhalese account of its tenets. It is
represented as the worst of heresies, which was suppressed by
1 According to the common reckoning B.C. 88-76: according to Geiger B.C.
29-17. It seems probable that in the early dates of Sinhalese history there is an
error of about 62 years. See Geiger, Trans. Mahavamsa, pp. xxx ff. and Fleet,
J.R.A.S. 1909, pp. 323-356.
2 For the site see Parker's Ancient Ceylon, pp. 299 ff. The Mahavamsa (xxxm.
79 and x. 98-100) says it was built on the site of an ancient Jain establishment
and Kern thinks that this tradition hints at circumstances which account for the
heretical and contentious spirit of the Abhaya monks.
3 Mahav. xxxm. 100-104. See too the Tika quote by Tumour in his introduc
tion, p. liii.
4 A work on ecclesiastical history written about 1395. Ed. and Trans. Colombo
Record Office.
6 The probable error in Sinhalese dates mentioned in a previous note continues
till the twelfth century A.D. though gradually decreasing. For the early centuries
of the Christian era it is probable that the accepted dates should be put half a
century later
6 Mahavamsa xxxvi. 41. Vetulyavadam madditva. According to the Nikaya
Sang, he burnt their Pitaka.
20 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
all orthodox kings but again and again revived, or was re-
introduced from India. Though it always found a footing
at the Abhayagiri it was not officially recognized as the
creed of that Monastery which since the time of Vattagamani
seems to have professed the relatively orthodox doctrine called
Dhammaruci.
Mention is made in the Katha-vatthu of heretics who held
that the Buddha remained in the Tusita heaven and that the
law was preached on earth not by him but by Ananda and the
commentary1 ascribes these views to the Vetulyakas. The
reticence of the Sinhalese chronicles makes it doubtful whether
the Vetulyakas of Ceylon and these heretics are identical
but probably the monks of the Abhayagiri, if not strictly
speaking Mahayanist, were an off-shoot of an ancient sect
which contained some germs of the Mahayana. Hsiian Chuang
in his narrative2 states (probably from hearsay) that the monks
of the Mahavihara were Hinayanists but that both vehicles
were studied at the Abhayagiri. I-Ching on the contrary says
expressly that all the Sinhalese belonged to the Aryasthavira
Nikaya. Fa-Hsien describes the Buddhism of Ceylon as he
saw it about 412 A. D., but does not apply to it the terms Hina
or Mahayana. He evidently regarded the Abhayagiri as the
principal religious centre and says it had 5000 monks as against
3000 in the Mahavihara, but though he dwells on the gorgeous
ceremonial, the veneration of the sacred tooth, the representa
tions of Gotama's previous lives, and the images of Maitreya,
he does not allude to the worship of Avalokita and Mafijusri or
to anything that can be called definitely Mahayanist. He
describes a florid and somewhat superstitious worship which
may have tended to regard the Buddha as superhuman, but the
relics of Gotama's body were its chief visible symbols and we
have no ground for assuming that such teaching as is found in
the Lotus sutra was its theological basis. Yet we may legiti
mately suspect that the traditions of the Abhayagiri remount
to early prototypes of that teaching.
In the second and third centuries the Court seems to have
favoured the Mahavihara and King Gothabhaya banished
1 On Katha-vat. xvm. 1 and 2. Printed in the Journal of the Pali Text Soc. for
1889.
2 Watters, n. 234. Of. Hsiian Chuang's life, chap. iv.
xxxv] CEYLON 21
monks belonging to the Vetulya sect1, but in spite of this a
monk of the Abhayagiri named Sanghamitta obtained his con
fidence and that of his son, Mahasena, who occupied the throne
from 275 to 302 A.D. The Mahavihara was destroyed and its
occupants persecuted at Sanghamitta's instigation but he was
murdered and after his death the great Monastery was rebuilt.
The triumph however was not complete for Mahasena built a
new monastery called Jetavana on ground belonging to the
Mahavihara and asked the monks to abandon this portion of
their territory. They refused and according to the Mahavamsa
ultimately succeeded in proving their rights before a court of
law. But the Jetavana remained as the headquarters of a sect
known as Sagaliyas. They appear to have been moderately
orthodox, but to have had their own text of the Vinaya for
according to the Commentary2 on the Mahavamsa they "separ
ated the two Vibhangas of the Bhagava3 from the Vinaya . . .
altering their meaning and misquoting their contents." In
the opinion of the Mahavihara both the Abhayagiri and Jeta
vana were schismatical, but the laity appear to have given
their respect and offerings to all three impartially and the
Mahavamsa several times records how the same individual
honoured the three Confraternities.
With the death of Mahasena ends the first and oldest part
of the Mahavamsa, and also in native opinion the grand period
of Sinhalese history, the subsequent kings being known as the
Culavamsa or minor dynasty. A continuation4 of the chronicle
takes up the story and tells of the doings of Mahasena's son
Sirimeghavanna5. Judged by the standard of the Mahavihara,
he was fairly satisfactory. He rebuilt the Lohapasada and
caused a golden image of Mahinda to be made and carried in
1 Mahavara. xxxvi. iii. ff. Gothabhaya's date was probably 302-315 and Maha
sena's 325-352. The common chronology makes Gothabhaya reign from 244 to
257 and Mahasena from 269 to 296 A.D.
2 Quoted by Tumour, Introd. p. liii. The Mahavam. v. 13, expressly states
that the Dhammaruci and Sagaliya sects originated in Ceylon.
3 I.e. as I understand, the two divisions of the Sutta Vibhanga.
4 It was written up to date at various periods. The chapters which take up the
history after the death of Mahasena are said to be the work of Dhammakitti, who
lived about 1250.
5 He was a contemporary of the Gupta King Samudragupta who reigned approxi
mately. 330-375 A.D. See S. Levi in J.A. 1900, pp. 316 ff, 401 ff. This synchronism
is a striking confirmation of Fleet and Geiger's chronology.
22 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
procession. This veneration of the founder of a local church re
minds one of the respect shown to the images of half -deified
abbots in Tibet, China and Japan. But the king did not neglect
the Abhayagiri or assign it a lower position than the Mahavihara
for he gave it partial custody of the celebrated relic known as
the Buddha's tooth which was brought to Ceylon from Kalinga
in the ninth year of his reign and has ever since been considered
the palladium of the island.
It may not be amiss to consider here briefly what is known
of the history of the Buddha's relics and especially of this tooth.
Of the minor distinctions between Buddhism and Hinduism one
of the sharpest is this cultus. Hindu temples are often erected
over natural objects supposed to resemble the footprint or some
member of a deity and sometimes tombs receive veneration1.
But no case appears to be known in which either Hindus or
Jains show reverence to the bones or other fragments of a human
body. It is hence remarkable that relic-worship should be so
wide -spread in Buddhism and appear so early in its history.
The earliest Buddhist monuments depict figures worshipping at
a stupa, which was probably a reliquary, and there is no reason
to distrust the traditions which carry the practice back at
least to the reign of Asoka. The principal cause for its prevalence
was no doubt that Buddhism, while creating a powerful religious
current, provided hardly any objects of worship for the faithful2.
It is also probable that the rudiments of relic worship existed
in the districts frequented by the Buddha. The account of his
death states that after the cremation of his body the Mallas
placed his bones in their council hall and honoured them with
songs and dances. Then eight communities or individuals de
manded a portion of the relics and over each portion a cairn
was built. These proceedings are mentioned as if they were the
usual ceremonial observed on the death of a great man and in
1 E.g. the tomb of Ramanuja at Srirangam.
2 For a somewhat similar reason the veneration of relics is prevalent among
Moslims. Islam indeed provides an object of worship but its ceremonies are so
austere and monotonous that any devotional practices which are not forbidden as
idolatrous are welcome to the devout.
xxxv] CEYLON 23
the same Sutta1 the Buddha himself mentions four classes of
men worthy of a cairn or dagoba2. We may perhaps conclude
that in the earliest ages of Buddhism it was usual in north
eastern India to honour the bones of a distinguished man after
cremation and inter them under a monument. This is not
exactly relic worship but it has in it the root of the later tree.
The Pitakas contain little about the practice but the Milinda
Panha discusses the question at length and in one passage3
endeavours to reconcile two sayings of the Buddha, "Hinder
not yourselves by honouring the remains of the Tathagatha"
and "Honour that relic of him who is worthy of honour." It is
the first utterance rather than the second that seems to have
the genuine ring of Gotama.
The earliest known relics are those discovered in the stupa
of Piprava on the borders of Nepal in 1898. Their precise nature
and the date of the inscription describing them have been the
subject of much discussion. Some authorities think that this
stupa may be one of those erected over a portion of the Buddha's
ashes after his funeral. Even Barth, a most cautious and
sceptical scholar, admitted4 first that the inscription is not
later than Asoka, secondly that the vase is a reliquary con
taining what were believed to be bones of the Buddha. Thus in
the time of Asoka the worship of the Buddha's relics was well
known and I see no reason why the inscription should not be
anterior to that time.
According to Buddhaghosa's Sumangalavildsini and Sin
halese texts which though late are based on early material5,
Mahakassapa instigated Ajatasattu to collect the relics of the
Buddha, and to place them in a stupa, there to await the
advent of Asoka. In Asoka's time the stupa had become over
grown and hidden by jungle but when the king was in search of
relics, its position was revealed to him. He found inside it an
inscription authorizing him to disperse the contents and pro-
1 Dig. Nik. xvi. v. 27.
2 Plutarch mentions a story that the relics of King Menander were similarly
divided into eight portions but the story may be merely a replica of the obsequies
of the Buddha.
3 iv. 3, 24. The first text is from Mahaparinibbana Sutta, v. 24. The second has
not been identified.
4 Journal des Savants, Oct. 1906.
6 See Norman, " Buddhist legends of Asoka and his times," in J.A.8. Beng. 1910.
24 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
ceeded to distribute them among the 84,000 monasteries which
he is said to have constructed.
In its main outlines this account is probable. Ajatasattu
conquered the Licchavis and other small states to the north of
Magadha and if he was convinced of the importance of the
Buddha's relics it would be natural that he should transport
them to his capital, regarding them perhaps as talismans1.
Here they were neglected, though not damaged, in the reigns
of Brahmanical kings and were rescued from oblivion by Asoka,
who being sovereign of all India and anxious to spread Buddhism
throughout his dominions would be likely to distribute the
relics as widely as he distributed his pillars and inscriptions.
But later Buddhist kings could not emulate this imperial im
partiality and we may surmise that such a monarch as Kanishka
would see to it that all the principal relics in northern India
found their way to his capital. The bones discovered at Pesha
war are doubtless those considered most authentic in his reign.
Next to the tooth, the most interesting relic of the Buddha
was his patra or alms-bowl, which plays a part somewhat similar
to that of the Holy Grail in Christian romance. The Mahavamsa
states that Asoka sent it to Ceylon, but the Chinese pilgrim
Fa-Hsien2 saw it at Peshawar about 405 A.D. It was shown to
the people daily at the midday and evening services. The pilgrim
thought it contained about two pecks yet such were its miracu
lous properties that the poor could fill it with a gift of a few
flowers, whereas the rich cast in myriads of bushels and found
there was still room for more. A few years later Fa-Hsien
heard a sermon in Ceylon3 in which the preacher predicted that
the bowl would be taken in the course of centuries to Central
Asia, China, Ceylon and Central India whence it would ulti
mately ascend to the Tusita heaven for the use of the future
Buddha. Later accounts to some extent record the fulfilment
of these predictions inasmuch as they relate how the bowl (or
bowls) passed from land to land but the story of its wandering
may have little foundation since it is combined with the idea
that it is wafted from shrine to shrine according as the faith is
flourishing or decadent. Hsiian Chuang says that it "had gone
1 Just as the Tooth was considered to be the palladium of Sinhalese kings.
2 Record of Buddhist kingdoms. Legge, pp. 34, 35. Fa-Hsien speaks of the
country not the town of Peshawar (Purushapura).
8 Ibid. p. 109. Fa-Hsien does not indicate that at this time there was a rival
bowl in Ceylon but represents the preacher as saying it was then in Gandhara.
xxxv] CEYLON 25
on from Peshawar to several countries and was now in Persia1."
A Mohammedan legend relates that it is at Kandahar and will
contain any quantity of liquid without overflowing. Marco
Polo says Kublai Khan sent an embassy in 1284 to bring it
from Ceylon to China2.
The wanderings of the tooth, though almost as surprising
as those of the bowl, rest on better historical evidence, but
there is probably more continuity in the story than in the holy
object of which it is related, for the piece of bone which is
credited with being the left canine tooth of the Blessed One
may have been changed on more than one occasion. The Sin
halese chronicles3, as mentioned, say that it was brought to
Ceylon in the ninth year of Sirimeghavanna4. This date may be
approximately correct for about 413 or later Fa-Hsien described
the annual festival of the tooth, during which it was exposed
for veneration at the Abhayagiri monastery, without indicating
that the usage was recent.
The tooth did not, according to Sinhalese tradition, form
part of the relics distributed after the cremation of the Buddha.
Seven bones, including four teeth5, were excepted from that
distribution and the Sage Khema taking the left canine tooth
direct from the funeral pyre gave it to the king of Kalinga, who
enshrined it in a gorgeous temple at Dantapura6 where it is
supposed to have remained 800 years. At the end of that period
1 Waiters, i. pp. 202, 203. But the life of Hsiian Chuang says Benares not
Persia.
2 Marco Polo trans. Yule, n. pp. 320, 330.
3 For the history of the tooth see Mahdmmsa, p. 241, in Tumour's edition: the
Dathavamsa in Pali written by Dhammakitti in 1211 A.D. : and the Sinhalese
poems Daladapujavali and Dhatuvansaya. See also Da Cunha, Memoir on the
History of the Tooth Relic of Ceylon, 1875, and Yule's notes on Marco Polo, n.
pp. 328-330.
4 I.e. about 361 or 310, according to which chronology is adopted, but neither
Fa-Hsien or Hsiian Chuang says anything about its arrival from India and this
part of the story might be dismissed as a legend. But seeing how extraordinary
were the adventures of the tooth in historical times, it would be unreasonable to
deny that it may have been smuggled out of India for safety.
6 Various accounts are given of the disposal of these teeth, but more than enough
relics were preserved in various shrines to account for all. Hsiian Chuang saw or
heard of sacred teeth in Balkh, Nagar, Kashmir, Kanauj and Ceylon. Another
tooth is said to be kept near Foo-chow.
6 Plausibly supposed to be Puri. The ceremonies still observed in the temple of
Jagannath are suspected of being based on Buddhist rites. Dantapura of theKalingas
is however mentioned in some verses quoted in Digha Nikaya xix. 36. This looks
as if the name might be pre-Buddhist.
26 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
a pious king named Guhasiva became involved in disastrous
wars on account of the relic, and, as the best means of pre
serving it, bade his daughter fly with her husband1 and take it
to Ceylon. This, after some miraculous adventures, they were
able to do. The tooth was received with great ceremony and
lodged in an edifice called the Dhammacakka from which it
was taken every year for a temporary sojourn2 in the Abhaya-
giri monastery.
The cultus of the tooth flourished exceedingly in the next
few centuries and it came to be regarded as the talisman of the
king and nation. Hence when the court moved from Anura-
dhapura to Pollunaruwa it was installed in the new capital. In
the troubled times which followed it changed its residence some
fifteen times. Early in the fourteenth century it was carried off
by the Tamils to southern India but was recovered by Parakrama
Bahu III and during the commotion created by the invasions
of the Tamils, Chinese and Portuguese it was hidden in various
cities. In 1560 Dom Constantino de Bragan9a, Portuguese
Viceroy of Goa, led a crusade against Jaffna to avenge the
alleged persecution of Christians, and when the town was
sacked a relic, described as the tooth of an ape mounted in
gold, was found in a temple and carried off to Goa. On this
Bayin Naung, King of Pegu, offered an enormous ransom to
redeem it, which the secular government wished to accept, but
the clergy and inquisition put such pressure on the Viceroy
that he rejected the proposal. The archbishop of Goa pounded
the tooth in a mortar before the viceregal court, burned the
fragments and scattered the ashes over the sea3.
But the singular result of this bigotry was not to destroy
one sacred tooth but to create two. The king of Pegu, who
wished to marry a Sinhalese princess, sent an embassy to Ceylon
to arrange the match. They were received by the king of Cotta,
who bore the curiously combined name of Don Juan Dharma-
pala. He had no daughter of his own but palmed off the daugh
ter of a chamberlain. At the same time he informed the king
1 They are called Ranmali and Danta in the Rajavaliya.
2 There is a striking similarity between this rite and the ceremonies observed at
Puri, where the images of Jagannatha and his relatives are conveyed every summer
with great pomp to a country residence where they remain during some weeks.
3 See Tennent's Ceylon, vol. n. pp. 29, 30 and 199 ff. and the Portuguese
uthorities quoted.
xxxv] CEYLON 27
of Pegu that the tooth destroyed at Goa was not the real relic
and that this still remained in his possession. Bayin Naung was
induced to marry the lady and received the tooth with appro
priate ceremonies. But when the king of Kandy heard of these
doings, he apprized the king of Pegu of the double trick that
had been played on him. He offered him his own daughter, a
veritable princess, in marriage and as her dowry the true tooth
which, he said, was neither that destroyed at Goa nor yet that
sent to Pegu, but one in his own possession. Bayin Naung
received the Kandyan embassy politely but rejected its pro
posals, thinking no doubt that it would be awkward to declare
the first tooth spurious after it had been solemnly installed as
a sacred relic. The second tooth therefore remained in Kandy
and appears to be that now venerated there. When Vimala
Dharma re-established the original line of kings, about 1592,
it was accepted as authentic.
As to its authenticity, it appears to be beyond doubt that
it is a piece of discoloured bone about two inches long, which
could never have been the tooth of an ordinary human being,
so that even the faithful can only contend that the Buddha
was of superhuman stature. Whether it is the relic which was
venerated in Ceylon before the arrival of the Portuguese is a
more difficult question, for it may be argued with equal plausi
bility that the Sinhalese had good reasons for hiding the real
tooth and good reasons for duplicating it. The strongest argu
ment against the authenticity of the relic destroyed by the
Portuguese is that it was found in Jaffna, which had long been
a Tamil town, whereas there is no reason to believe that the
real tooth was at this time in Tamil custody. But, although the
native literature always speaks of it as unique, the Sinhalese
appear to have produced replicas more than once, for we hear
of such being sent to Burma and China1. Again, the offer to
ransom the tooth came not from Ceylon but from the king of
Pegu, who, as the sequel shows, was gullible in such matters:
the Portuguese clearly thought that they had acquired a relic
of primary importance; on any hypothesis one of the kings of
Ceylon must have deceived the king of Pegu, and finally Vimala
Dharma had the strongest political reasons for accepting as
1 Fortune in Two Visits to Tea Countries of China, vol. n. pp. 107-8, describes
one of these teeth preserved in the Ku-shan monastery near Foo-chow.
E. m. 3
28 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
genuine the relic kept at Kandy, since the possession of the true
tooth went far to substantiate a Sinhalese monarch's right to
the throne.
The tooth is now preserved in a temple at Kandy. The visitor
looking through a screen of bars can see on a silver table a
large jewelled case shaped like a bell. Flowers scattered on the
floor or piled on other tables fill the chamber with their heavy
perfume. Inside the bell are six other bells of diminishing size,
the innermost of which covers a golden lotus containing the
sacred tooth. But it is only on rare occasions that the outer
caskets are removed. Worshippers as a rule have to content
themselves with offering flowers1 and bowing but I was informed
that the priests celebrate puja daily before the relic. The cere
mony comprises the consecration and distribution of rice and
is interesting as connecting the veneration of the tooth with
the ritual observed in Hindu temples. But we must return to
the general history of Buddhism in Ceylon.
The kings who ruled in the fifth century were devout Bud
dhists and builders of viharas but the most important event of
this period, not merely for the island but for the whole Buddhist
church in the south, was the literary activity of Buddhaghosa
who is said to have resided in Ceylon during the reign of
Mahanama. The chief authorities for his life are a passage in
the continuation of the Mahavamsa2 and the Buddhaghosup-
patti, a late Burmese text of about 1550, which, while adding
many anecdotes, appears not to come from an independent
source3. The gist of their account is that he was born in a Brah
man family near Gaya and early obtained renown as a disputant.
He was converted to Buddhism by a monk named Revata and
began to write theological treatises4. Revata observing his
1 This practice must be very old. The Vinaya of the Mulasarvastivadins and
similar texts speak of offering flowers to a tooth of the Buddha. See J.A. 1914, n.
pp. 523, 543. The Pali Canon too tells us that the relics of the Buddha were honoured
with garlands and perfumes.
2 Chap, xxxvn.
3 Both probably represent the tradition current at the Mahavihara, but accord
ing to the Talaing tradition Buddhaghosa was a Brahman born at Thaton.
4 The Mahavamsa says he composed the Jnanodaya and Atthasalini at this
time before starting for Ceylon.
xxxv] CEYLON 29
intention to compose a commentary on the Pitakas, told him
that only the text (palimattam) of the scriptures was to be
found in India, not the ancient commentaries, but that the Sin
halese commentaries were genuine, having been composed in
that language by Mahinda. He therefore bade Buddhaghosa
repair to Ceylon and translate these Sinhalese works into the
idiom of Magadha, by which Pali must be meant. Buddha
ghosa took this advice and there is no reason to distrust the
statement of the Mahavamsa that he arrived in the reign of
Mahanama, who ruled according to Geiger from 458 to 480,
though the usual reckoning places him about fifty years earlier.
The fact that Fa-Hsien, who visited Ceylon about 412, does not
mention Buddhaghosa is in favour of Geiger's chronology1.
He first studied in the Mahavihara and eventually requested
permission to translate the Sinhalese commentaries. To prove
his competence for the task he composed the celebrated Visud-
dhi-magga, and, this being considered satisfactory, he took up
his residence in the Ganthakara Vihara and proceeded to the
work of translation. When it was finished he returned to India
or according to the Talaing tradition to Thaton. The Buddha-
ghosuppatti adds two stories of which the truth and meaning
are equally doubtful. They are that Buddhaghosa burnt the
works written by Mahinda and that his knowledge of Sanskrit
was called in question but triumphantly proved. Can there be
here any allusion to a Sanskrit canon supported by the oppo
nents of the Mahavihara?
Even in its main outline the story is not very coherent for
one would imagine that, if a Buddhist from Magadha went to
Ceylon to translate the Sinhalese commentaries, his object
must have been to introduce them among Indian Buddhists.
But there is no evidence that Buddhaghosa did this and he is
for us simply a great figure in the literary and religious history
of Ceylon. Burmese tradition maintains that he was a native
of Thaton and returned thither, when his labours in Ceylon
were completed, to spread the scriptures in his native language.
This version of his activity is intelligible, though the evidence
for it is weak.
1 Fa-Hsien is chary of mentioning contemporary celebrities but he refers to a
well-known monk called Ta-mo-kiu-ti (? Dhammakathi) and had Buddhaghosa
been already celebrated he would hardly have omitted him.
30 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
He composed a great corpus of exegetical literature which
has been preserved, but, since much of it is still unedited, the
precise extent of his labours is uncertain. There is however little
doubt of the authenticity of his commentaries on the four great
Nikayas, on the Abhidhamma and on the Vinaya (called
Samanta-pasadika) and in them1 he refers to the Visuddhi-
magga as his own work. He says expressly that his explanations
are founded on Sinhalese materials, which he frequently cites
as the opinion of the ancients (porana). By this word he prob
ably means traditions recorded in Sinhalese and attributed to
Mahinda, but it is in any case clear that the works which he
consulted were considered old in the fifth century A.D. Some
of their names are preserved in the Samanta-pasadika where
he mentions the great commentary (Maha-Atthakatha), the
Raft commentary (Paccari, so called because written on a raft),
the Kurundi commentary composed at Kurunda-Velu and
others2. All this literature has disappeared and we can only
judge of it by Buddhaghosa's reproduction which is probably
not a translation but a selection and rearrangement. Indeed
his occasional direct quotations from the ancients or from an
Atthakatha imply that the rest of the work is merely based on
the Sinhalese commentaries.
Buddhaghosa was not an independent thinker but he makes
amends for his want of originality not only by his industry and
learning but by his power of grasping and expounding the
whole of an intricate subject. His Visuddhi-magga has not yet
been edited in Europe, but the extracts and copious analysis3
which have been published indicate that it is a comprehensive
restatement of Buddhist doctrine made with as free a hand as
orthodoxy permitted. The Mahavamsa observes that the
Theras held his works in the same estimation as the Pitakas.
They are in no way coloured by the Mahayanist tenets which
were already prevalent in India, but state in its severest form
the Hinayanist creed, of which he is the most authoritative
exponent. The Visuddhi-magga is divided into three parts
treating of conduct (silam), meditation (samadhi) and knowledge
1 In the Corns, on the Digha and Dhammasangani.
3 See Rhys Davids and Carpenter's introduction to Sumangalavi, i. p. x.
1 In the Journal of Pali Text Soc. 1891, pp. 76-164. Since the above was written
the first volume of the text of the Visuddhi magga, edited by Mrs Rhys Davids,
has been published by the Pali Text Society, 1920.
xxxv] CEYLON 31
(paiina), the first being the necessary substratum for the
religious life of which the others are the two principal branches.
But though he intersperses his exposition with miraculous stories
and treats exhaustively of superhuman powers, no trace of the
worship of Mahay anist Bodhisattvas is found in his works and,
as for literature, he himself is the chief authority for the genu
ineness and completeness of the Pali Canon as we know it.
When we find it said that his works were esteemed as highly
as the Pitakas, or that the documents which he translated into
Pali were the words of the Buddha1, the suspicion naturally
arises that the Pali Canon may be in part his composition and
it may be well to review briefly its history in Ceylon. Our
knowledge appears to be derived entirely from the traditions
of the Mahavihara which represent Mahindq, as teaching the
text of the Pitakas orally, accompanied by a commentary. If
we admit the general truth of the narrative concerning Ma-
hinda's mission, there is nothing improbable in these state
ments, for it would be natural that an Indian teacher should
know by heart his sacred texts and the commentaries on them.
We cannot of course assume that the Pitakas of Mahinda were
the Pali Canon as we know it, but the inscriptions of Asoka
refer to passages which can be found in that canon and therefore
parts of it at any rate must have been accepted as scripture in
the third century B.C. But it is probable that considerable
variation was permitted in the text, although the sense and a
certain terminology were carefully guarded. It was not till
the reign of Vattagamani, probably about 20 B.C., that the canon
was committed to writing and the Parivara, composed in
Ceylon2, was included in it.
In the reign of Buddhadasa3 a learned monk named Maha-
dhammakathi is said to have translated the Suttas into Sinhalese,
which at this time was esteemed the proper language for letters
and theology, but in the next century a contrary tendency,
probably initiated by Buddhaghosa, becomes apparent and Sin
halese works are rewritten in Pali4. But nothing indicates that
1 Bhagavato Sasanam. See Buddhaghosuppatti, cap. I.
2 It appears to be unknown to the Chinese Tripitaka. For some further remarks
on the Sinhalese Canon see Book in. chap. xin. § 3.
3 That is according to Geiger 386-416 A.D. Perhaps he was the Ta-mo-kiu-ti
mentioned by Fa-Hsien.
4 The tendency seems odd but it can be paralleled in India where it is not
uncommon to rewrite vernacular works in Sanskrit. See Grierson, J.R.A.S. 1913,
32 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
any part of what we call the Pali Canon underwent this process.
Buddhaghosa distinguishes clearly between text and comment,
between Pali and Sinhalese documents. He has a coherent
history of the text, beginning with the Council of Rajagaha;
he discusses various readings, he explains difficult words. He
treated the ancient commentaries with freedom, but there is no
reason to think that he allowed himself any discretion or right
of selection in dealing with the sacred texts accepted by the
Mahavihara, though it might be prudent to await the publica
tion of his commentaries on all the Nikayas before asserting
this unreservedly.
To sum up, the available evidence points to the conclusion
that in the time of Asoka texts and commentaries preserved
orally were brought to Ceylon. The former, though in a some
what fluid condition, were sufficiently sacred to be kept un
changed in the original Indian language, the latter were trans
lated into the kindred but still distinct vernacular of the island.
In the next century and a half some additions to the Pali texts
were made and about 20 B.C. the Mahavihara, which proved as
superior to the other communities in vitality as it was in
antiquity, caused written copies to be made of what it considered
as the canon, including some recent works. There is no evidence
that Buddhaghosa or anyone else enlarged or curtailed the
canon, but the curious tradition that he collected and burned
all the books written by Mahinda in Sinhalese1 may allude to
the existence of other works which he (presumably in agreement
with the Mahavihara) considered spurious.
Soon after the departure of Buddhaghosa Dhatusena came
to the throne and "held like Dhammasoka a convocation about
the three Pitakas2." This implies that there was still some
doubt as to what was scripture and that the canon of the
Mahavihara was not universally accepted. The Vetulyas, of
p. 133. Even in England in the seventeenth century Bacon seems to have been
doubtful of the immortality of his works in English and prepared a Latin translation
of his Essays.
1 It is reported with some emphasis as the tradition of the Ancients in Buddha -
ghosuppatti, cap. vn. If the works were merely those which Buddhaghosa himself
had translated the procedure seems somewhat drastic.
2 Mahav. xxxin. Dhammasokova so kasi Pitakattaye Sarigahan. Dhatusena
reigned from 459-477 according to the common chronology or 509-527 according
to Geiger.
xxxv] CEYLON 33
whom we heard in the third century A.D., reappear in the
seventh when they are said to have been supported by a pro
vincial governor but not by the king Aggabodhi1 and still
more explicitly in the reign of Parakrama Bahu (c. 1160). He
endeavoured to reconcile to the Mahavihara "the Abhayagiri
brethren who separated themselves from the time of king
Vattagamani Abhaya and the Jetavana brethren that had
parted since the days of Mahasena and taught the Vetulla
Pitaka and other writings as the words of Buddha, which indeed
were not the words of Buddha2." So it appears that another
recension of the canon was in existence for many centuries.
Dhatusena, though depicted in the Mahavamsa as a most
orthodox monarch, embellished the Abhayagiri monastery and
was addicted to sumptuous ceremonies in honour of images and
relics. Thus he made an image of Mahinda, dedicated a shrine
and statue to Metteyya and ornamented the effigies of Buddha
with the royal jewels. In an image chamber (apparently at the
Abhayagiri) he set up figures of Bodhisattvas3, by which we
should perhaps understand the previous births of Gotama. He
was killed by his son and Sinhalese history degenerated into a
complicated story of crime and discord, in which the weaker
faction generally sought the aid of the Tamils. These latter
became more and more powerful and with their advance Bud
dhism tended to give place to Hinduism. In the eighth century
the court removed from Anuradhapura to Pollannaruwa, in
order to escape from the pressure of the Tamils, but the picture
of anarchy and decadence grows more and more gloomy until
the accession of Vijaya Bahu in 1071 who succeeded in making
himself king of all Ceylon. Though he recovered Anuradhapura
it was not made the royal residence either by himself or by his
greater successor, Parakrama Bahu4. This monarch, the most
eminent in the long list of Ceylon's sovereigns, after he had
consolidated his power, devoted himself, in the words of Tennent,
"to the two grand objects of royal solicitude, religion and
agriculture." He was lavish in building monasteries, temples
and libraries, but not less generous in constructing or repairing
1 Mahav. XLII. 35 ff.
2 Mahav. LXXVHI. 21-23.
8 Mahav. xxxvm. Akasi patimagehe bahumangalacetiye boddhisatte ca
tathasun. Cf. Fa-Hsien, chap. xxvm. ad fin.
4 Or Parakkama Bahu. Probably 1153-1186.
34 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
tanks and works of irrigation. In the reign of Vijaya Bahu
hardly any duly ordained monks were to be found1, the succes
sion having been interrupted, and the deficiency was supplied
by bringing qualified Theras from Burma. But by the time of
Parakrama Bahu the old quarrels of the monasteries revived,
and, as he was anxious to secure unity, he summoned a synod
at Anuradhapura. It appears to have attained its object by
recognizing the Mahavihara as the standard of orthodoxy and
dealing summarily with dissentients2. The secular side of mon
astic life also received liberal attention. Lands, revenues and
guest-houses were provided for the monasteries as well as
hospitals. As in Burma and Siam Brahmans were respected and
the king erected a building for their use in the capital. Like
Asoka, he forbade the killing of animals.
But the glory of Parakrama Bahu stands up in the later
history of Ceylon like an isolated peak and thirty years after
his death the country had fallen almost to its previous low level
of prosperity. The Tamils again occupied many districts and were
never entirely dislodged as long as the Sinhalese kingdom
lasted. Buddhism tended to decline but was always the religion
of the national party and was honoured with as much magnifi
cence as their means allowed. Parakrama Bahu II (c. 1240),
who recovered the sacred tooth from the Tamils, is said to have
celebrated splendid festivals and to have imported learned
monks from the country of the Colas3. Towards the end of the
fifteenth century the inscriptions of Kalyani indicate that Sin
halese religion enjoyed a great reputation in Burma4.
A further change adverse to Buddhism was occasioned by
the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505. A long and horrible
struggle ensued between them and the various kings among
whom the distracted island was divided until at the end of the
sixteenth century only Kandy remained independent, the whole
coast being in the hands of the Portuguese. The singular bar
barities which they perpetrated throughout this struggle are
vouched for by their own historians5, but it does not appear
Mahavamsa LX. 4-7.
Mahavamsa LXXVIII. 21-27.
Mahav. LXXXIV. If this means the region of Madras, the obvious question is
what learned Buddhist can there have been there at this period.
J. Ant. 1893, pp. 40, 41.
I take this statement from Tennent who gives references.
xxxv] CEYLON 35
that the Sinhalese degraded themselves by similar atrocities.
Since the Portuguese wished to propagate Roman Catholicism
as well as to extend their political rule and used for this purpose
(according to the Mahavamsa) the persuasions of gold as well aa
the terrors of torture, it is not surprising if many Sinhalese pro
fessed allegiance to Christianity, but when in 1597 the greater
part of Ceylon formally accepted Portuguese sovereignty, the
chiefs insisted that they should be allowed to retain their own
religion and customs.
The Dutch first appeared in 1602 and were welcomed by the
Court of Kandy as allies capable of expelh'ng the Portuguese.
This they succeeded in doing by a series of victories between
1638 and 1658, and remained masters of a great part of the island
until their possessions were taken by the British in 1795.
Kandy however continued independent until 1815. At first the
Dutch tried to enforce Christianity and to prohibit Buddhism
within their territory1 but ultimately hatred of the Roman
Catholic church made them favourable to Buddhism and they
were ready to assist those kings who desired to restore the
national religion to its former splendour.
In spite of this assistance the centuries when the Sinhalese
were contending with Europeans were not a prosperous time
for Buddhism. Hinduism spread in the north2, Christianity in
the coast belt, but still it was a point of honour with most
native sovereigns to protect the national religion so far as their
distressed condition allowed. For the seventeenth century we
have an interesting account of the state of the country called
An Historical Relation of the Island of Ceylon by an Englishman,
Robert Knox, who was detained by the king of Kandy from
1660 to 1680. He does not seem to have been aware that there
was any distinction between Buddhism and Hinduism. Though
he describes the Sinhalese as idolaters, he also emphasizes the
fact that Buddou (as he writes the name) is the God "unto
whom the salvation of souls belongs," and for whom "above all
others they have a high respect and devotion." He also describes
1 See Ceylon Antiquary, i. 3, pp. 148, 197.
2 Rajasinha I (1581) is said to have made Sivaism the Court religion.
36 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
the ceremonies of pirit and bana, the perahera procession, and
two classes of Buddhist monks, the elders and the ordinary
members of the Sangha. His narrative indicates that Buddhism
was accepted as the higher religion, though men were prone to
pray to deities who would save from temporal danger.
About this time Vimala Dharma II1 made great efforts to
improve the religious condition of the island and finding that
the true succession had again failed, arranged with the Dutch
to send an embassy to Arakan and bring back qualified Theras.
But apparently the steps taken were not sufficient, for when
king Kittisiri Rajasiha (1747-81), whose piety forms the theme
of the last two chapters of the Mahavamsa, set about reforming
the Sangha, he found that duly ordained monks were extinct
and that many so-called monks had families. He therefore
decided to apply to Dhammika, king of Ayuthia in Siam, and
like his predecessor despatched an embassy on a Dutch ship.
Dhammika sent back a company of "more than ten monks"
(that is more than sufficient for the performance of all ecclesi
astical acts) under the Abbot Upali in 1752 and another to
relieve it in 17552. They were received by the king of Ceylon with
great honour and subsequently by the ordination which they
conferred placed the succession beyond dispute. But the order
thus reconstituted was aristocratic and exclusive : only members
of the highest caste were admitted to it and the wealthy middle
classes found themselves excluded from a community which
they were expected to honour and maintain. This led to the
despatch of an embassy to Burma in 1802 and to the foundation
of another branch of the Sangha, known as the Amarapura
school, distinct in so far as its validity depended on Burmese
not Siamese ordination.
Since ordination is for Buddhists merely self -dedication to a
higher life and does not confer any sacramental or sacerdotal
1 His reign is dated as 1679-1701, also as 1687-1706. It is remarkable that the
Mahavamsa makes both the kings called Vimala Dharma send religious embassies
to Arakan. See xciv. 15, 16 and xcvn. 10, 11.
2 See for some details Lorgeou: Notice sur un Manuscrit Siamois contenant la
relation de deux missions religieuses envoyees de Siam a Ceylon au milieu du xviii
Siecle. Jour. AsiaL 1906, pp. 533 ff. The king called Dhammika by the Mahavamsa
appears to have been known as Phra Song Tham in Siam. The interest felt by the
Siamese in Ceylon at this period is shown by the Siamese translation of the Maha
vamsa made in 1796.
xxxv] CEYLON 37
powers, the importance assigned to it may seem strange. But
the idea goes back to the oldest records in the Vinaya and has
its root in the privileges accorded to the order. A Bhikkhu had
a right to expect much from the laity, but he also had to prove
his worth and Gotama's early legislation was largely concerned
with excluding unsuitable candidates. The solicitude for valid
ordination was only the ecclesiastical form of the popular feeling
that the honours and immunities of the order were conditional
on its maintaining a certain standard of conduct. Other
methods of reform might have been devised, but the old injunc
tion that a monk could be admitted only by other duly ordained
monks was fairly efficacious and could not be disputed. But
the curious result is that though Ceylon was in early times the
second home of Buddhism, almost all (if indeed not all) the
monks found there now derive their right to the title of Bhikkhu
from foreign countries.
The Sinhalese Sangha is generally described as divided into
four schools, those of Siam, Kelani, Amarapura and Ramanya,
of which the first two are practically identical, Kelani being
simply a separate province of the Siamese school, which other
wise has its headquarters in the inland districts. This school,
founded as mentioned above by priests who arrived in 1750,
comprises about half of the whole Sangha and has some pre
tensions to represent the hierarchy of Ceylon, since the last
kings of Kandy gave to the heads of the two great monasteries
in the capital, Asgiri and Mai watte, jurisdiction over the north
and south of the island respectively. It differs in some particu
lars from the Amarapura school. It only admits members of
the highest caste and prescribes that monks are to wear the
upper robe over one shoulder only, whereas the Amarapurans
admit members of the first three castes (but not those lower in
the social scale) and require both shoulders to be covered.
There are other minor differences among which it is interesting
to note that the Siamese school object to the use of the formula
"I dedicate this gift to the Buddha" which is used in the other
schools when anything is presented to the order for the use of
the monks. It is held that this expression was correct in the life
time of the Buddha but not after his death. The two schools
are not mutually hostile, and members of each find a hospitable
reception in the monasteries of the other. The laity patronize
38 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
both indifferently and both frequent the same places of pilgrim
age, though all of these and the majority of the temple lands
belong to the sect of Siam. It is wealthy, aristocratic and has
inherited the ancient traditions of Ceylon, whereas the Amara-
purans are more active and inclined to propaganda. It is said
they are the chief allies of the Theosophists and European
Buddhists. The Ramanya1 school is more recent and distinct
than the others, being in some ways a reformed community.
It aims at greater strictness of life, forbidding monasteries to
hold property and insisting on genuine poverty. It also totally
rejects the worship of Hindu deities and its lay members do not
recognize the monks of other schools. It is not large but its
influence is considerable.
It has been said that Buddhism flourished in Ceylon only
when it was able to secure the royal favour. There is some truth
in this, for the Sangha does not struggle on its own behalf but
expects the laity to provide for its material needs, making a
return in educational and religious services. Such a body if not
absolutely dependent on royal patronage has at least much to
gain from it. Yet this admission must not blind us to the fact
that during its long and often distinguished history Sinhalese
Buddhism has been truly the national faith, as opposed to the
beliefs of various invaders, and has also ministered to the
spiritual aspirations of the nation. As Knox said in a period
when it was not particularly flourishing, the Hindu gods look
after worldly affairs but Buddha after the soul. When the
island passed under British rule and all religions received im
partial recognition, the result was not disastrous to Buddhism :
the number of Bhikkhus greatly increased, especially in the latter
half of the nineteenth century. And if in earlier periods there
was an interval in which technically speaking the Sangha did
not exist, this did not mean that interest in it ceased, for as
soon as the kingdom became prosperous the first care of the
kings was to set the Church in order. This zeal can be attributed
to nothing but conviction and affection, for Buddhism is not a
faith politically useful to an energetic and warlike prince.
1 Ramanna is the part of Burma between Arakan and Siam.
xxxv] CEYLON 39
Sinhalese Buddhism is often styled primitive or original and
it may fairly be said to preserve in substance both the doctrine
and practice inculcated in the earliest Pali literature. In calling
this primitive we must remember the possibility that some of
this literature was elaborated in Ceylon itself. But, putting the
text of the Pitakas aside, it would seem that the early Sinhalese
Buddhism was the same as that of Asoka, and that it never
underwent any important change. It is true that mediaeval
Sinhalese literature is full of supernatural legends respecting the
Buddha1, but still he does not become a god (for he has attained
Nirvana) and the great Bodhisattvas, Avalokita and Manjusri,
are practically unknown. The Abhidhammattha-sangaha2, which
is still the text-book most in use among the Bhikkhus, adheres
rigidly to the methods of the Abhidhamma3. It contains
neither devotional nor magical matter but prescribes a course
of austere mental training, based on psychological analysis and
culminating in the rapture of meditation. Such studies and
exercises are beyond the capacity of the majority, but no other
road to salvation is officially sanctioned for the Bhikkhu. It is
admitted that there are no Arhats now — just as Christianity
has no contemporary saints — but no other ideal, such as the
Boddhisattva of the Mahay anists, is held up for imitation.
Mediaeval images of Avalokita and of goddesses have how
ever been found in Ceylon4. This is hardly surprising for the
island was on the main road to China, Java, and Camboja5 and
Mahayanist teachers and pilgrims must have continually passed
through it. The Chinese biographies of that eminent tantrist,
Amogha, say that he went to Ceylon in 741 and elaborated his
system there before returning to China. It is said that in 1408
the Chinese being angry at the ill-treatment of envoys whom
they had sent to the shrine of the tooth, conquered Ceylon and
1 See Spence Hardy, Manual of Buddhism, chap. vn.
2 A translation by S. Z. Aung and Mrs Rhys Davids has been published by the
Pali Text Society. The author Anuruddha appears to have lived between the
eighth and twelfth centuries.
3 The Sinhalese had a special respect for the Abhidhamma. Kassapa V (c. A.D.
930) caused it to be engraved on plates of gold. Ep. Zeyl. I. p. 52.
4 See Coomaraswamy in J.R.A.S. 1909, pp. 283-297.
6 For intercourse with Camboja see Epigr. Zeylanica, n. p. 74.
40 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
made it pay tribute for fifty years. By conquest no doubt is
meant merely a military success and not occupation, but the
whole story implies possibilities of acquaintance with Chinese
Buddhism.
It is clear that, though the Hinayanist church was pre
dominant throughout the history of the island, there were up
to the twelfth century heretical sects called Vaitulya or Vetul-
yaka and Vajira which though hardly rivals of orthodoxy were
a thorn in its side. A party at the Abhayagiri monastery were
favourably disposed to the Vaitulya sect which, though of ten sup
pressed, recovered and reappeared, being apparently reinforced
from India. This need not mean from southern India, for Ceylon
had regular intercourse with the north and per haps the Vaitulyas
were Mahayanists from Bengal. The Nikaya-Sangrahawa also
mentions that in the ninth century there was a sect called
Nilapatadarsana1, who wore blue robes and preached indulgence
in wine and love. They were possibly Tantrists from the north
but were persecuted in southern India and never influential in
Ceylon.
The Mahavamsa is inclined to minimize the importance of
all sects compared with the Mahavihara, but the picture given
by the Nikaya-Sangrahawa may be more correct. It says that
the Vaitulyas, described as infidel Brahmans who had composed
a Pitaka of their own, made four attempts to obtain a footing
at the Abhayagiri monastery2. In the ninth century it repre
sents king Matvalasen as having to fly because he had embraced
the false doctrine of the Vajiras. These are mentioned in another
passage in connection with the Vaitulyas : they are said to have
composed the Gudha Vinaya3 and many Tantras. They perhaps
were connected with the Vajrayana, a phase of Tantric Bud
dhism. But a few years later king Mungayinsen set the church
in order. He recognized the three orthodox schools or nikayas
called Theriya, Dhammaruci and Sagaliya but proscribed the
others and set guards on the coast to prevent the importation
of heresy. Nevertheless the Vajiriya and Vaitulya doctrines
1 A dubious legend relates that they were known in the north and suppressed
by Harsha. See Ettinghausen, Harsha Vardhana, 1906, p. 86. Nil Sadhana appears
to be a name for tantric practices. See Avalon, Principles of Tantra, preface, p. xix.
2 In the reigns of Voharatissa, Gothabhaya, Mahasena and Ambaherana
Salamevan. The kings Matvalasen and Mungayinsen are also known as Sena I and II.
3 Secret Vinaya.
xxxv] CEYLON 41
were secretly practised. An inscription in Sanskrit found at the
Jetavana and attributed to the ninth century1 records the
foundation of a Vihara for a hundred resident monks, 25 from
each of the four nikayas, which it appears to regard as equiva
lent. But in 1165 the great Parakrama Bahu held a synod to
restore unity in the church. As a result, all Nikayas (even the
Dhammaruci) which did not conform to the Mahavihara were
suppressed2 and we hear no more of the Vaitulyas and Vajiriyas.
Thus there was once a Mahayanist faction in Ceylon, but it
was recruited from abroad, intermittent in activity and was
finally defeated, whereas the Hinayanist tradition was national
and continuous.
Considering the long lapse of time, the monastic life of Ceylon
has not deviated much in practice from the injunctions of the
Vinaya. Monasteries like those of Anuradhapura, which are
said to have contained thousands of monks, no longer exist.
The largest now to be found — those at Kandy — do not contain
more than fifty but as a rule a pansala (as these institutions are
now called) has not more than five residents and more often
only two or three. Some pansalas have villages assigned to
them and some let their lands and do not scruple to receive the
rent. The monks still follow the ancient routine of making a
daily round with the begging bowl, but the food thus collected
is often given to the poor or even to animals and the inmates
of the pansala eat a meal which has been cooked there. The
Patimokkha is recited (at least in part) twice a month and
ordinations are held annually3.
The duties of the Bhikkhus are partly educational, partly
clerical. In most villages the children receive elementary edu
cation gratis in the pansala, and the preservation of the ancient
texts, together with the long list of Pali and Sinhalese works
produced until recent times almost exclusively by members of
the Sangha4, is a proof that it has not neglected literature. The
1 Epigraphia Zeylan. i. p. 4.
2 One of the king's inscriptions says that he reconciled the clergy of the three
Nikayas. Ep. Zeyl. i. p. 134.
3 See Bowden in J.R.A.S. 1893, pp. 159 ff. The account refers to the Mai watte
Monastery. But it would appear that the Patimokkha is recited in country places
when a sufficient number of monks meet on Uposatha days.
4 Even the poets were mostly Bhikkhus. Sinhalese literature contains a fair
number of historical and philosophical works but curiously little about law. See
Jolly, Recht und Sitte, p. 44.
42 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
chief public religious observances are preaching and reading the
scriptures. This latter, known as Bana, is usually accompanied
by a word for word translation made by the reciter or an
assistant. Such recitations may form part of the ordinary
ceremonial of Uposatha days and most religious establishments
have a room where they can be held, but often monks are
invited to reside in a village during Was (July to October) and
read Bana, and often a layman performs a pinkama or act of
merit by entertaining monks for several days and inviting his
neighbours to hear them recite. The recitation of the Jatakas
is particularly popular but the suttas of the Digha Nikaya are
also often read. On special occasions such as entry into a new
house, an eclipse or any incident which suggests that it might
be well to ward off the enmity of supernatural powers, it is
usual to recite a collection of texts taken largely from the
Suttanipata and called Pint. The word appears to be derived
from the Pali paritta, a defence, and though the Pali scriptures
do not sanction this use of the Buddha's discourses they coun
tenance the idea that evil may be averted by the use of
formulae1.
Although Sinhalese Buddhism has not diverged much from
the Pali scriptures in its main doctrines and discipline, yet it
tolerates a superstructure of Indian beliefs and ceremonies
which forbid us to call it pure except in a restricted sense. At
present there may be said to be three religions in Ceylon; local
animism, Hinduism and Buddhism are all inextricably mixed
together. By local animism I mean the worship of native
spirits who do not belong to the ordinary Hindu pantheon
though they may be identified with its members. The priests of
this worship are called Kapuralas and one of their principal
ceremonies consists in dancing until they are supposed to be
possessed by a spirit — the devil dancing of Europeans. Though
this religion is distinct from ordinary Hinduism, its deities and
ceremonies find parallels in the southern Tamil country. In
Ceylon it is not merely a village superstition but possesses
1 E.g. in the Atanatiya sutta (Dig. Nik. xxxn.) friendly spirits teach a spell by
which members of the order may protect themselves against evil ones and in
Jataka 159 the Peacock escapes danger by reciting every day a hymn to the sun
and the praises of past Buddhas. See also Bunyiu, Nanjios Catalogue, Nos. 487 and
800.
xxxv] CEYLON 43
temples of considerable size1, for instance at Badulla and near
Ratnapura. In the latter there is a Buddhist shrine in the
court yard, so that the Blessed One may countenance the
worship, much as the Pitakas represent him as patronizing and
instructing the deities of ancient Magadha, but the structure
and observances of the temple itself are not Buddhist. The chief
spirit worshipped at Ratnapura and in most of these temples is
Maha Saman, the god of Adam's Peak. He is sometimes identi
fied with Lakshmana, the brother of Rama, and sometimes with
Indra.
About a quarter of the population are Tamils professing
Hinduism. Hindu temples of the ordinary Dravidian type are
especially frequent in the northern districts, but they are found
in most parts and at Kandy two may be seen close to the shrine
of the Tooth2. Buddhists feel no scruple in frequenting them
and the images of Hindu deities are habitually introduced into
Buddhist temples. These often contain a hall, at the end of
which are one or more sitting figures of the Buddha, on the
right hand side a recumbent figure of him, but on the left a
row of four statues representing Mahabrahma, Vishnu, Kartti-
keya and Mahasaman. Of these Vishnu generally receives
marked attention, shown by the number of prayers written on
slips of paper which are attached to his hand. Nor is this
worship found merely as a survival in the older temples. The four
figures appear in the newest edifices and the image of Vishnu
never fails to attract votaries. Yet though a rigid Buddhist
may regard such devotion as dangerous, it is not treasonable, for
Vishnu is regarded not as a competitor but as a very reverent
admirer of the Buddha and anxious to befriend good Buddhists.
Even more insidious is the pageantry which since the days
of King Tissa has been the outward sign of religion. It may be
justified as being merely an edifying method of venerating the
memory of a great man but when images and relics are treated
with profound reverence or carried in solemn procession it is
hard for the ignorant, especially if they are accustomed to the
ceremonial of Hindu temples, not to think that these symbols
are divine. This ornate ritualism is not authorized in any
1 See for an account of the Maha Saman Devale, Ceylon Ant. July, 1916.
2 So a mediaeval inscription at Mahintale of Mahinda IV records the foundation
of Buddhist edifices and a temple to a goddess. Ep. Zeyl i. p. 103.
E. m. 4
44 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
known canonical text, but it is thoroughly Indian. Asoka
records in his inscriptions the institution of religious processions
and Hsiian Chuang relates how King Harsha organized a
festival during which an image of the Buddha was carried on an
elephant while the monarch and his ally the king of Assam,
dressed as Indra and Brahma respectively, waited on it like
servants1. Such festivities were congenial to the Sinhalese, as
is attested by the long series of descriptions which fill the
Mahavamsa down to the very last book, by what Fa-Hsien saw
about 412 and by the Perahera festival celebrated to-day.
6
The Buddhism of southern India resembled that of Ceylon
in character though not in history. It was introduced under
the auspices of Asoka, who mentions in his inscriptions the
Colas, Pandyas and Keralaputras2. Hsiian Chuang says that in
the Malakuta country, somewhere near Madura or Tan j ore,
there was a stupa erected by Asoka's orders and also a monastery
founded by Mahinda. It is possible that this apostle and others
laboured less in Ceylon and more in south India than is generally
supposed. The pre-eminence and continuity of Sinhalese Bud
dhism are due to the conservative temper of the natives who
were relatively little moved by the winds of religion which
blew strong on the mainland, bearing with them now Jainism,
now the worship of Vishnu or Siva.
In the Tamil country Buddhism of an Asokan type appears
to have been prevalent about the time of our era. The poem
Manimegalei, which by general consent was composed in an
early century A.D., is Buddhist but shows no leanings to
Mahay anism. It speaks of Sivaism and many other systems3
as flourishing, but contains no hint that Buddhism was perse
cuted. But persecution or at least very unfavourable conditions
set in. Since at the time of Hsiian Chuang's visit Buddhism
1 Similarly in a religious procession described in the Mahavamsa (xcix. 52;
about 1750 A.D.) there were "men in the dress of Brahmas."
2 Rock Edicts, ii. and xm. Three inscriptions of Asoka have been found in
Mysore.
3 The Manimegalei even mentions six systems of philosophy which are not the
ordinary Dar£anas but Lokayatam, Bauddham, Saiikhyam, Naiyayikam, Vaiseshi-
kam, Mimamsakam.
xxxv] CEYLON 45
was in an advanced stage of decadence, it seems probable that
the triumph of Sivaism began in the third or fourth century
and that Buddhism offered slight resistance, Jainism being the
only serious competitor for the first place. But for a long while,
perhaps even until the sixteenth century, monasteries were kept
up in special centres, and one of these is of peculiar importance,
namely Kancipuram or Conjeveram1. Hsiian Chuang found
there 100 monasteries with more than 10,000 brethren, all
Sthaviras, and mentions that it was the birthplace of Dharma-
pala2. We have some further information from the Talaing
chronicles3 which suggests the interesting hypothesis that the
Buddhism of Burma was introduced or refreshed by mission
aries from southern India. They give a list of teachers who
flourished in that country, including Kaccayana and the philoso
pher Anuruddha4. Of Dharmapala they say that he lived at
the monastery of Bhadratittha near Kancipura and wrote
fourteen commentaries in Pali5. One was on the Visuddhi-magga
of Buddhaghosa and it is probable that he lived shortly after
that great writer and like him studied in Ceylon.
I shall recur to this question of south Indian Buddhism in
treating of Burma, but the data now available are very meagre.
1 Kan-chih-pu-lo. Waiters, Juan Chuang, n. 226. The identification is not
without difficulties and it has been suggested that the town is really Negapatam.
The Life of the pilgrim says that it was on the coast, but he does not say so himself
and his biographer may have been mistaken.
2 See art. by Rhys Davids in E.R.E.
3 See Forchhammer, Jar dine Prize Essay, 1885, pp. 24 ff.
4 Author of the Abhidhammattha-sangaha.
6 Some have been published by the P.T. Society.
CHAPTER XXXVI
BURMA
UNTIL recent times Burma remained somewhat isolated and
connected with foreign countries by few ties. The chronicles
contain a record of long and generally peaceful intercourse with
Ceylon, but this though important for religion and literature
had little political effect. The Chinese occasionally invaded
Upper Burma and demanded tribute but the invasions were
brief and led to no permanent occupation. On the west Arakan
was worried by the Viceroys of the Mogul Emperors and on the
east the Burmese frequently invaded Siam. But otherwise
from the beginning of authentic history until the British annex
ation Burma was left to itself and had not, like so many Asiatic
states, to submit to foreign conquest and the imposition of
foreign institutions. Yet let it not be supposed that its annals
are peaceful and uneventful. The land supplied its own compli
cations, for of the many races inhabiting it, three, the Burmese,
Talaings and Shans, had rival aspirations and founded dyn
asties. Of these three races, the Burmese proper appear to have
come from the north west, for a chain of tribes speaking
cognate languages is said to extend from Burma to Nepal.
The Mons or Talaings are allied linguistically to the Khmer s of
Camboja. Their country (sometimes called Ramannadesa) was
in Lower Burma and its principal cities were Pegu and Thaton.
The identity of the name Talaing with Telingana or Kalinga
is not admitted by all scholars, but native tradition con
nects the foundation of the kingdom with the east coast of
India and it seems certain that such a connection existed in
historical times and kept alive Hinayanist Buddhism which
may have been originally introduced by this route.
The Shan States lie in the east of Burma on the borders of
Yunnan and Laos. Their traditions carry their foundation back
to the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. There is no confirmation
of this, but bodies of Shans, a race allied to the Siamese, may
OH. xxxvi] BURMA 47
have migrated into this region at any date, perhaps bringing
Buddhism with them or receiving it direct from China. Recent
investigations have shown that there was also a fourth race,
designated as Pyus, who occupied territory between the Bur
mese and Talaings in the eleventh century. They will probably
prove of considerable importance for philology and early history,
perhaps even for the history of some phases of Burmese Bud
dhism, for the religious terms found in their inscriptions are
Sanskrit rather than Pali and this suggests direct communica
tion with India. But until more information is available any
discussion of this interesting but mysterious people involves so
many hypotheses and arguments of detail that it is impossible
in a work like the present. Prome was one of their principal
cities, their name reappears in P'iao, the old Chinese designation
of Burma, and perhaps also in Pagan, one form of which is
Pugama1.
Throughout the historical period the pre-eminence both in
individual kings and dynastic strength rested with the Burmese
but their contests with the Shans and Talaings form an intricate
story which can be related here only in outline. Though the
three races are distinct and still preserve their languages, yet
they conquered one another, lived in each other's capitals and
shared the same ambitions so that in more recent centuries no
great change occurred when new dynasties came to power or
territory was redistributed. The long chronicle of bloodstained
but ineffectual quarrels is relieved by the exploits of three
great kings, Anawrata, Bayin Naung and Alompra.
Historically, Arakan may be detached from the other
provinces. The inhabitants represent an early migration from
Tagaung and were not annexed by any kingdom in Burma until
1784A.D. Tagaung, situated on the Upper Irrawaddyin the Ruby
Mines district, was the oldest capital of the Burmese and has a
scanty history apparently going back to the early centuries of
our era. Much the same may be said of the Talaing kingdom
in Lower Burma. The kings of Tagaung were succeeded by
another dynasty connected with them which reigned at Prome.
No dates can be given for these events, nor is the part which
the Pyus played in them clear, but it is said that the Talaings
1 For the Pyus see Blagden in J.R.A.S. pp. 365-388. Ibid, in Epigr. Indica,
1913, pp. 127-133. Also reports of Burma Arch. Survey, 1916, 1917.
48 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
destroyed the kingdom of Prome in 742 A.D.1 According to
tradition the centre of power moved about this time to Pagan2
on the bank of the Irrawaddy somewhat south of Mandalay.
But the silence of early Chinese accounts3 as to Pagan, which
is not mentioned before the Sung dynasty, makes it probable
that later writers exaggerated its early importance and it is
only when Anawrata, King of Pagan and the first great name
in Burmese history, ascended the throne that the course of
events becomes clear and coherent. He conquered Thaton in
1057 and transported many of the inhabitants to his own capital.
He also subdued the nearer Shan states and was master of
nearly all Burma as we understand the term. The chief work of
his successors was to construct the multitude of pagodas which
still ornament the site of Pagan. It would seem that the dynasty
gradually degenerated and that the Shans and Talaings ac
quired strength at its expense. Its end came in 1298 and was
hastened by the invasion of Khubilai Khan. There then arose
two simultaneous Shan dynasties at Panya and Sagaing which
lasted from 1298 till 1364. They were overthrown by King
Thadominpaya who is believed to have been a Shan. He
founded Ava which, whether it was held by Burmese or Shans,
was regarded as the chief city of Burma until 1752, although
throughout this period the kings of Pegu and other districts
were frequently independent. During the fourteenth century
another kingdom grew up at Toungoo4 in Lower Burma. Its
rulers were originally Shan governors sent from Ava but ulti
mately they claimed to be descendants of the last king of Pagan
and, in this character, Bureng or Bayin Naung (1551-1581), the
second great ruler of Burma, conquered Prome, Pegu and Ava.
His kingdom began to break up immediately after his death
but his dynasty ruled in Ava until the middle of the eighteenth
century.
During this period Europeans first made their appearance
and quarrels with Portuguese adventurers were added to native
1 So C. C. Lewis in the Gazetteer of Burma, vol. i. p. 292, but according to
others the Burmese chronicles place the event at the beginning of the Christian era.
Sometimes called New Pagan to distinguish it from Old Pagan which was a
name of Tagaung. Also called Pagan or Pugama and in Pali Arimaddanapura.
3 See the travels of Kia Tan described by Pelliot in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 131-
414.
4 More correctly Taung-ngu.
xxxvi] BURMA 49
dissensions. The Shans and Talaings became turbulent and after
a tumultuous interval the third great national hero, Alaung-
paya or Alompra, came to the front. In the short space of eight
years (1752-1760), he gained possession of Ava, made the Bur
mese masters of both the northern and southern provinces,
founded Rangoon and invaded both Manipur and Siam. While
on the latter expedition he died. Some of his successors held
their court at Ava but Bodawpaya built a new capital at
Amarapura (1783) and Mindon Min another at Mandalay (1857).
The dynasty came to an end in 1886 when King Thibaw was
deposed by the Government of India and his dominions an
nexed.
The early history of Buddhism in Burma is obscure, as in
most other countries, and different writers have maintained
that it was introduced from northern India, the east coast
of India, Ceylon, China or Camboja1. All these views may
be in a measure true, for there is reason to believe that it
was not introduced at one epoch or from one source or in
one form.
It is not remarkable that Indian influence should be strong
among the Burmese. The wonder rather is that they have pre
served such strong individuality in art, institutions and every
day life, that no one can pass from India into Burma without
feeling that he has entered a new country. This is because the
mountains which separate it from Eastern Bengal and run right
down to the sea form a barrier still sufficient to prevent com-
1 For the history and present condition of Buddhism in Burma the following
may be consulted besides other works referred to in the course of this chapter.
M. Bode, Edition of the Sdsanavamsa with valuable dissertations, 1897. Thia
work is a modern Burmese ecclesiastical history written in 1861 by Pannasami.
M. Bode, The Pali Literature of Burma, 1909.
The Gandhavamsa : containing accounts of many Pali works written in Burma.
Edited by Minayeff in Jour. Pali Text Soc. for 1886, pp. 54 ff. and indexed by
M. Bode, ibid. 1896, 53 ff.
Bigandet, Vie ou Legende de Gautama, 1878.
Yoe, The Btfrman, his life and notions.
J. G. Scott, Burma, a handbook of practical information, 1906.
Reports of the Superintendent, Archaeological Survey, Burma, 1916-1920.
Various articles (especially by Duroiselle, Taw-Sein-Ko and R. C. Temple) in
the Indian Antiquary, Buddhism, and Bulletin de Vtfcole Franchise de VExtreme
Orient.
50 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
munication by rail. But from the earliest times Indian immi
grants and Indian ideas have been able to find their way both
by land and sea. According to the Burmese chronicles Tagaung
was founded by the Hindu prince Abhiraja in the ninth century
B.C. and the kingdom of Arakan claims as its first ruler an
ancient prince of Benares. The legends have not much more
historical value than the Kshattriya genealogies which Brah-
mans have invented for the kings of Manipur, but they show
that the Burmese knew of India and wished to connect them
selves with it. This spirit led not only to the invention of legends
but to the application of Indian names to Burmese localities.
For instance Aparantaka, which really designates a district of
western India, is identified by native scholars with Upper
Burma1. The two merchants Tapussa and Bhallika who were
the first to salute the Buddha after his enlightenment are said
to have come from Ukkala. This is usually identified with
Orissa but Burmese tradition locates it in Burma. A system of
mythical geography has thus arisen.
The Buddha himself is supposed to have visited Burma, as
well as Ceylon, in his lifetime2 and even to have imparted some
of his power to the celebrated image which is now in the Arakan
Pagoda at Mandalay. Another resemblance to the Sinhalese
story is the evangelization of lower Burma by Asoka's mission
aries. The Dipavamsa states3 that Sona and Uttara were de
spatched to Suvarnabhumi. This is identified with Ramanfia-
desa or the district of Thaton, which appears to be a corruption
of Saddhammapura4 and the tradition is accepted in Burma.
The scepticism with which modern scholars have received it is
perhaps unmerited, but the preaching of these missionaries, if
it ever took place, cannot at present be connected with other
historical events. Nevertheless the statement of the Dipavamsa
is significant. The work was composed in the fourth century
A.D. and taken from older chronicles. It may therefore be con-
1 So too Prome is called Srikshetra and the name Irrawaddy represents Iravati
(the modern Ravi). The ancient town of Sravasti or Savatthi is said to reappear in
the three forms Tharawaddy, Tharawaw and Thawutti.
2 See Indian Antiquary, 1893, p. 6, and Forchhammer on the Mahamuni Pagoda
in Burmese Archaeological Report (? 1890).
3 Dipav. vni. 12, and in a more embellished form in Mahavamsa xn. 44-64.
See also the Kalyani Inscriptions in Indian Ant. 1893, p. 16.
4 Through the form Saton representing Saddhan. Early European travellers
called it Satan or Xatan.
xxxvi] BURMA 51
eluded that in the early centuries of our era lower Burma had
the reputation of being a Buddhist country1. It also appears
certain that in the eleventh century, when the Talaings were
conquered by Anawrata, Buddhist monks and copies of the
Tipitaka were found there. But we know little about the
country in the preceding centuries. The Kalyani inscription says
that before Anawrata's conquest it was divided and decadent
and during this period there is no proof of intercourse with
Ceylon but also no disproof. One result of Anawrata's conquest
of Thaton was that he exchanged religious embassies with the
king of Ceylon, and it is natural to suppose that the two mon-
archs were moved to this step by traditions of previous com
munications. Intercourse with the east coast of India may be
assumed as natural, and is confirmed by the presence of Sanskrit
words in old Talaing and the information about southern India
in Talaing records, in which the city of Conjevaram, the great
commentator Dharmapala and other men of learning are often
mentioned. Analogies have also been traced between the archi
tecture of Pagan and southern India2. It will be seen that such
communication by sea may have brought not only Hinayanist
Buddhism but also Mahayanist and Tantric Buddhism as well
as Brahmanism from Bengal and Orissa, so that it is not sur
prising if all these influences can be detected in the ancient build
ings and sculptures of the country3. Still the most important
evidence as to the character of early Burmese Buddhism is
Hinayanist and furnished by inscriptions on thin golden plates
and tiles, found near the ancient site of Prome and deciphered
by Finot4. They consist of Hinayanist religious formulae: the
language is Pah': the alphabet is of a south Indian type and
is said to resemble closely that used in the inscriptions of the
Kadamba dynasty which ruled in Kanara from the third to the
1 The Burmese identify Aparantaka and Yona to which Asoka also sent mission
aries with Upper Burma and the Shan country. But this seems to be merely a
misapplication of Indian names.
2 See Forchhammer, Jardine Prize Essay, 1885, pp. 23-27. He also says that
the earliest Talaing alphabet is identical with the Vengi alphabet of the fourth
century A.D. Burma Archaeol. Report, 1917, p. 29.
3 See R. C. Temple, "Notes on Antiquities of Ramanfiadesa," Ind. Antiq. 1893,
pp. 327 ff. Though I admit the possibility that Mahayanism and Tantrism may
have nourished in lower Burma, it does not seem to me that the few Hindu figures
reproduced in this article prove very much.
4 J.A. 1912, H. pp. 121-136.
52 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
sixth century. It is to the latter part of this period that the
inscriptions are to be attributed. They show that a form of the
Hinayana, comparable, so far as the brief documents permit
us to judge, with the church of Ceylon, was then known in lower
Burma and was probably the state church. The character of
the writing, taken together with the knowledge of southern
India shown by the Talaing chronicles and the opinion of the
Dipavamsa that Burma was a Buddhist country, is good
evidence that lower Burma had accepted Hinayanism before
the sixth century and had intercourse with southern India.
More than that it would perhaps be rash to say.
The Burmese tradition that Buddhaghosa was a native of
Thaton and returned thither from Ceylon merits more attention
than it has received. It can be easily explained away as patriotic
fancy. On the other hand, if Buddhaghosa's object was to
invigorate Hinayanism in India, the result of his really stu
pendous labours was singularly small, for in India his name is
connected with no religious movement. But if we suppose that
he went to Ceylon by way of the holy places in Magadha and
returned from the Coromandel Coast to Burma where Hina
yanism afterwards nourished, we have at least a coherent nar
rative1.
It is noticeable that Taranatha states2 that in the Koki
countries, among which he expressly mentions Pukham (Pagan)
and Hamsavati (Pegu), Hinayanism was preached from the
days of Asoka onwards, but that the Mahay ana was not known
until the pupils of Vasubandhu introduced it.
The presence of Hinayanism in Lower Burma naturally did
not prevent the arrival of Mahay anism. It has not left many
certain traces but Atisa (c. 1000), a great figure in the history
of Tibetan Buddhism, is reported to have studied both in
Magadha and in Suvarnadvipa by which Thaton must be
meant. He would hardly have done this, had the clergy of
Thaton been unfriendly to Tantric learning. This mediaeval
Buddhism was also, as in other countries, mixed with Hinduism
1 It is remarkable that Buddhaghosa commenting on Ang. Nik. 1.14. 6 (quoted
by Forchhammer) describes the merchants of Ukkala as inhabiting Asitanjana in
the region of Hamsavati or Pegu. This identification of Ukkala with Burmese
territory is a mistake but accepted in Burma and it is more likely that a Burmese
would have made it than a Hindu.
8 Chap, xxxix.
xxxvi] BURMA 53
but whereas in Camboja and Champa Sivaism, especially the
worship of the lingam, was long the official and popular cult
and penetrated to Siam, few Sivaite emblems but numerous
statues of Vishnuite deities have hitherto been discovered in
Burma.
The above refers chiefly to Lower Burma. The history of
Burmese Buddhism becomes clearer in the eleventh century but
before passing to this new period we must enquire what was
the religious condition of Upper Burma in the centuries pre
ceding it. It is clear that any variety of Buddhism or Brah-
manism may have entered this region from India by land at
any epoch. According to both Hsiian Chuang and I-Ching
Buddhism flourished in Samatata and the latter mentions
images of Avalokita and the reading of the Prajna-paramita.
The precise position of Samatata has not been fixed but in any
case it was in the east of Bengal and not far from the modern
Burmese frontier. The existence of early Sanskrit inscriptions
at Taungu and elsewhere has been recorded but not with as
much detail as could be wished1. Figures of Bodhisattvas and
Indian deities are reported from Prome2, and in the Lower
Chindwin district are rock-cut temples resembling the caves of
Barabar in Bengal. Inscriptions also show that at Prome there
were kings, perhaps in the seventh century, who used the Pyu
language but bore Sanskrit titles. According to Burmese tradi
tion the Buddha himself visited the site of Pagan and prophesied
that a king called Sammutiraya would found a city there and
establish the faith. This prediction is said to have been fulfilled
in 108 A.D. but the notices quoted from the Burmese chronicles
are concerned less with the progress of true religion than with
the prevalence of heretics known as Aris3. It has been conjec
tured that this name is a corruption of Arya but it appears that
the correct orthography is aran representing an original aran-
yaka, that is forest priests. It is hard to say whether they were
degraded Buddhists or an indigenous priesthood who in some
1 See however Epig. Indica, vol. v. part iv. Oct. 1898, pp. 101-102. For the
prevalence of forms which must be derived from Sanskrit not Pali see Burma
Arch. Rep. 1916, p. 14, and 1917, p. 39.
2 Report of Supt. Arch. Survey Burma, 1909, p. 10, 1910, p. 13, and 1916,
pp. 33, 38. Finot, Notes d'Epigraphie, p. 357.
8 See especially Finot in J.A. 1912, n. p. 123, and Huber in B.E.F.E.O. 1909
p. 584.
54 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
ways imitated what they knew of Brahmanic and Buddhist
institutions. They wore black robes, let their hair grow, wor
shipped serpents, hung up in their temples the heads of animals
that had been sacrificed, and once a year they assisted the king
to immolate a victim to the Nats on a mountain top. They
claimed power to expiate all sins, even parricide. They lived in
convents (which is their only real resemblance to Buddhist
monks) but were not celibate1. Anawrata is said to have sup
pressed the Aris but he certainly did not extirpate them for an
inscription dated 1468 records their existence in the Myingyan
district. Also in a village near Pagan are preserved Tantric
frescoes representing Bodhisattvas with their Saktis. In one
temple is an inscription dated 1248 and requiring the people to
supply the priests morning and evening with rice, beef, betel,
and a jar of spirits2. It is not clear whether these priests were
Aris or not, but they evidently professed an extreme form of
Buddhist Saktism.
Chinese influences in Upper Burma must also be taken into
account. Burmese kings were perhaps among the many
potentates who sent religious embassies to the Emperor Wu-ti
about 525 A.D. and the T'ang3 annals show an acquaintance with
Burma. They describe the inhabitants as devout Buddhists,
reluctant to take life or even to wear silk, since its manufacture
involves the death of the silk worms. There were a hundred
monasteries into which the youth entered at the age of seven,
leaving at the age of twenty, if they did not intend to become
monks. The Chinese writer does not seem to have regarded the
religion of Burma as differing materially from Buddhism as he
knew it and some similarities in ecclesiastical terminology shown
by Chinese and Burmese may indicate the presence of Chinese
1 The Aris are further credited with having practised a sort of jus primes
noctis. See on this question the chapter on Camboja and alleged similar customs
there.
2 See Burma Arch. Rep. 1916, pp. 12, 13. They seem to have been similar to
the NilapatanadarSana of Ceylon. The Prabodhacandrodaya (about 1100 A.D.)
represents Buddhist monks as drunken and licentious.
3 See Parker, Burma, 1892. The annalist says "There is a huge white elephant
(or image) 100 feet high. Litigants burn incense and kneel before it, reflecting
within themselves whether they are right or wrong. . . . When there is any disaster
or plague the king also kneels in front of it and blames himself." The Chinese
character means either image or elephant, but surely the former must be the
meaning here.
xxxvi] BURMA 55
influence1. But this influence, though possibly strong between
the sixth and tenth centuries A.D., and again about the time of
the Chinese invasion of 12842, cannot be held to exclude Indian
influence.
Thus when Anawrata came to the throne3 several forms of
religion probably co -existed at Pagan, and probably most of
them were corrupt, though it is a mistake to think of his
dominions as barbarous. The reformation which followed is
described by Burmese authors in considerable detail and as
usual in such accounts is ascribed to the activity of one per
sonality, the Thera Arahanta who came from Thaton and en
joyed Anawrata's confidence. The story implies that there was
a party in Pagan which knew that the prevalent creed was
corrupt and also looked upon Thaton and Ceylon as religious
centres. As Anawrata was a man of arms rather than a theo
logian, we may conjecture that his motive was to concentrate in
his capital the flower of learning as known in his time — a motive
which has often animated successful princes in Asia and led to
the unceremonious seizure of living saints. According to the
story he broke up the communities of Aris at the instigation of
Arahanta and then sent a mission to Manohari, king of Pegu,
asking for a copy of the Tipitaka and for relics. He received a
contemptuous reply intimating that he was not to be trusted
with such sacred objects. Anawrata in indignation collected an
army, marched against the Talaings and ended by carrying off
to Pagan not only elephant loads of scriptures and relics, but
also all the Talaing monks and nobles with the king himself4.
The Pitakas were stored in a splendid pagoda and Anawrata
1 See Taw-Sein-Ko, in Ind. Antiquary, 1906, p. 211. But I must confess that I
have not been able to follow or confirm all the etymologies suggested by him.
2 See for Chinese remains at Pagan, Report of the Superintendent, Arch. Survey,
Burma, for year ending 31st March, 1910, pp. 20, 21. An inscription at Pagan
records that in 1285 Khubilai's troops were accompanied by monks sent to evan
gelize Burma. Both troops and monks halted at Tagaung and both were sub
sequently withdrawn. See Arch. Survey, 1917, p. 38.
3 The date of Anawrata's conquest of Thaton seems to be now fixed by inscrip
tions as 1057 A.D., though formerly supposed to be earlier. See Burma Arch. Eep.
1916. For Anawrata's religious reforms see Sdsanavamsa, pp. 17 ff. and 57 ff.
4 It has been noted that many of the inscriptions explanatory of the scenes
depicted on the walls of the Ananda temple at Pagan are in Talaing, showing that
it was some time before the Burmans were able to assimilate the culture of the
conquered country.
56 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
sent to Ceylon1 for others which were compared with the
copies obtained from Thaton in order to settle the text2.
For 200 years, that is from about 1060 A.D. until the later
decades of the thirteenth century, Pagan was a great centre of
Buddhist culture not only for Burma but for the whole east,
renowned alike for its architecture and its scholarship. The
former can still be studied in the magnificent pagodas which
mark its site. Towards the end of his reign Anawrata made not
very successful attempts to obtain relics from China and Ceylon
and commenced the construction of the Shwe Zigon pagoda.
He died before it was completed but his successors, who enjoyed
fairly peaceful reigns, finished the work and constructed about
a thousand other buildings among which the most celebrated is
the Ananda temple erected by King Kyansitha3.
Pali literature in Burma begins with a little grammatical
treatise known as Karika and composed in 1064 A.D. by the
monk Dhammasenapati who lived in the monastery attached
to this temple. A number of other works followed. Of these the
most celebrated was the Saddaniti of Aggavamsa (1154), a
treatise on the language of the Tipitaka which became a classic
not only in Burma but in Ceylon. A singular enthusiasm for
linguistic studies prevailed especially in the reign of Kyocva
(c. 1230), when even women are said to have been distinguished
for the skill and ardour which they displayed in conquering the
difficulties of Pali grammar. Some treatises on the Abhidham-
ma were also produced.
Like Mohammedanism, Hinayanist Buddhism is too simple
and definite to admit much variation in doctrine, but its clergy
are prone to violent disputes about apparently trivial questions.
In the thirteenth century such disputes assumed grave propor
tions in Burma. About 1175 A.D. a celebrated elder named
1 So the Sdsanavamsa, p. 64 and p. 20. See also Bode, Pali Literature of Burma,
p. 15. But the Mahavamsa, LX. 4-7, while recording the communications between
Vijaya Bahu and Aniruddha (= Anawrata) represents Ceylon as asking for monks
from Ramaiina, which implies that lower Burma was even then regarded as a
Buddhist country with a fine tradition.
2 The Burmese canon adds four works to the Khuddaka-Nikaya, namely:
(a) Milinda Pafiha, (6) Netti-Pakarana, (c) Suttasahgaha, (d) Petakopadesa.
8 Inscriptions give his reign as 1084-1112 A.D. See Burma Arch. Rep. 1916,
p. 24. Among many other remarkable edifices may be mentioned the Thapinyu or
Thabbannu (1100), the Gaudapalin (1160) and the Bodhi (c. 1200) which is a copy
of the temple at Bodhgaya.
xxxvi] BURMA 57
Uttarajiva accompanied by his pupil Chapata left for Ceylon.
They spent some years in study at the Mahavihara and Chapata
received ordination there. He returned to Pagan with four other
monks and maintained that valid ordination could be conferred
only through the monks of the Mahavihara, who alone had kept
the succession unbroken. He with his four companions, having
received this ordination, claimed power to transmit it, but he
declined to recognize Burmese orders. This pretension aroused
a storm of opposition, especially from the Talaing monks. They
maintained that Arahanta who had reformed Buddhism under
Anawrata was spiritually descended from the missionaries sent
by Asoka, who were as well qualified to administer ordination
as Mahinda. But Chapata was not only a man of learning and
an author1 but also a vigorous personality and in favour at
Court. He had the best of the contest and succeeded in making
the Talaing school appear as seceders from orthodoxy. There
thus arose a distinction between the Sinhalese or later school
and the old Burmese school, who regarded one another as
schismatics. A scandal was caused in the Sinhalese community
by Rahula, the ablest of Chapata's disciples, who fell in love
with an actress and wished to become a layman. His colleagues
induced him to leave the country for decency's sake and peace
was restored but subsequently, after Chapata's death, the re
maining three disciples2 fell out on questions of discipline rather
than doctrine and founded three factions, which can hardly be
called schools, although they refused to keep the Uposatha
days together. The light of religion shone brightest at Pagan
early in the thirteenth century while these three brethren were
alive and the Sasanavamsa states that at least three Arhats
lived in the city. But the power of Pagan collapsed under
attacks from both Chinese and Shans at the end of the century
1 The best known of his works are the Sutta-niddesa on grammar and the
Sankhepavannana. The latter is a commentary on the Abhidhamtnattha-sangaha,
but it is not certain if Chapata composed it or merely translated it from the
Sinhalese.
2 Some authorities speak as if the four disciples of Chapata had founded four
sects, but the reprobate Kahnla can hardly have done this. The above account is
taken from the Kalyani inscription, /??</. Ant. 1893, pp. 30, 31. Jt says very dis
tinctly "There were in Pugama (Pagan) 4 sects. 1. The successors of the priests
who introduced the religion from Sudhaminanagara (i.e. the Mramma Sangha).
2. The disciples of Sivalimahathera. 3. The disciples of Tamalindamahathera.
4. The disciples of Ananda Mahathera."
58 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
and the last king became a monk under the compulsion of Shan
chiefs. The deserted city appears to have lost its importance as
a religious centre, for the ecclesiastical chronicles shift the
scene elsewhere.
The two Shan states which arose from the ruin of Pagan,
namely Panya (Vijayapura) and Sagaing (Jeyyapura), encour
aged religion and learning. Their existence probably explains
the claim made in Siamese inscriptions of about 1300 that the
territory of Siam extended to Hamsavati or Pegu and this con
tact of Burma and Siam was of great importance for it must be
the origin of Pali Buddhism in Siam which otherwise remains
unexplained.
After the fall of the two Shan states in 1364, Ava (or Ratna-
pura) which was founded in the same year gradually became
the religious centre of Upper Burma and remained so during
several centuries. But it did not at first supersede older towns
inasmuch as the loss of political independence did not always
involve the destruction of monasteries. Buddhism also flour
ished in Pegu and the Talaing country where the vicissitudes of
the northern kingdoms did not affect its fortunes.
Anawrata had transported the most eminent Theras of
Thaton to Pagan and the old Talaing school probably suffered
temporarily. Somewhat later we hear that the Sinhalese school
was introduced into these regions by Sariputta1, who had been
ordained at Pagan. About the same time two Theras of Marta-
ban, preceptors of the Queen, visited Ceylon and on returning
to their own land after being ordained at the Mahavihara con
sidered themselves superior to other monks. But the old Bur
mese school continued to exist. Not much literature was pro
duced in the south. Sariputta was the author of a Dhammathat
or code, the first of a long series of law books based upon Manu.
Somewhat later Mahayasa of Thaton (c. 1370) wrote several
grammatical works.
The most prosperous period for Buddhism in Pegu was the
reign of Dhammaceti, also called Ramadhipati (1460-1491).
He was not of the royal family, but a simple monk who helped
a princess of Pegu to escape from the Burmese court where she
was detained. In 1453 this princess became Queen of Pegu and
Dhammaceti left his monastery to become her prime minister,
1 Also known by the title of Dhammavitasa. He was active in 1246.
xxxvi] BURMA 59
son-in-law and ultimately her successor. But though he had
returned to the world his heart was with the Church. He was
renowned for his piety no less than for his magnificence and is
known to modern scholars as the author of the Kalyani inscrip
tions1, which assume the proportions of a treatise on ecclesi
astical laws and history. Their chief purpose is to settle an
intricate and highly technical question, namely the proper
method of defining and consecrating a simd. This word, which
means literally boundary, signifies a plot of ground within which
Uposatha meetings, ordinations and other ceremonies can take
place. The expression occurs in the Vinaya Pitaka2, but the
area there contemplated seems to be an ecclesiastical district
within which the Bhikkhus were obliged to meet for Uposatha.
The modern simd is much smaller3, but more important since
it is maintained that valid ordination can be conferred only
within its limits. To Dhammaceti the question seemed mo
mentous, for as he explains, there were in southern Burma six
schools who would not meet for Uposatha. These were, first the
Camboja4 school (identical with the Arahanta school) who
claimed spiritual descent from the missionaries sent by Asoka
to Suvarnabhumi, and then five divisions of the Sinhalese
school, namely the three founded by Chapata's disciples as
already related and two more founded by the theras of Marta-
ban. Dhammaceti accordingly sent a mission to Ceylon charged
to obtain an authoritative ruling as to the proper method of
consecrating a simd and conferring ordination. On their return
a locality known as the Kalyanisima was consecrated in the
manner prescribed by the Mahavihara and during three years all
the Bhikkhus of Dhammaceti's kingdom were reordained there.
The total number reached 15,666, and the king boasts that he
had thus purified religion and made the school of the Mahavi
hara the only sect, all other distinctions being obliterated.
1 Found in Zaingganaing, a suburb of Pegu. The text, translation and notes are
contained in various articles by Taw-Sein-Ko in the Indian Antiquary for 1893^.
2 Mahavagga, n. 11, 12, 13.
3 According to Taw-Sein-Ko (Ind. Ant. 1893, p. 11) "about 105 or 126 feet in
perimeter."
4 No contact with Cambojan religion is implied. The sect was so called because
its chief monastery was near the Camboja market and this derived its name from
the fact that many Cambojan (probably meaning Shan) prisoners were confined
near it.
E. in. *
60 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
There can be little doubt that in the fifteenth century
Burmese Buddhism had assumed the form which it still has,
but was this form due to indigenous tradition or to imitation of
Ceylon? Five periods merit attention, (a) In the sixth century,
and probably several centuries earlier, Hinayanism was known
in Lower Burma. The inscriptions attesting its existence are
written in Pali and in a south Indian alphabet. (6) Anawrata
(1010-1052) purified the Buddhism of Upper Burma with the
help of scriptures obtained from the Talaing country, which
were compared with other scriptures brought from Ceylon.
(c) About 1200 Chapata and his pupils who had studied in
Ceylon and received ordination there refused to recognize the
Talaing monks and two hostile schools were founded, pre
dominant at first in Upper and Lower Burma respectively.
(d) About 1250 the Sinhalese school, led by Sariputta and others,
began to make conquests in Lower Burma at the expense of the
Talaing school, (e) Two centuries later, about 1460, Dham-
maceti of Pegu boasts that he has purified religion and made
the school of the Mahavihara, that is the most orthodox form
of the Sinhalese school, the only sect.
In connection with these data must be taken the important
statement that the celebrated Tantrist Atisa studied in Lower
Burma about 1000 A.D. Up to a certain point the conclusion
seems clear. Pali Hinayanism in Burma was old: intercourse
with southern India and Ceylon tended to keep it pure, whereas
intercourse with Bengal and Orissa, which must have been
equally frequent, tended to import Mahayanism. In the time
of Anawrata the religion of Upper Burma probably did
not deserve the name of Buddhism. He introduced in its
place the Buddhism of Lower Burma, tempered by refer
ence to Ceylon. After 1200 if not earlier the idea prevailed
that the Mahavihara was the standard of orthodoxy and
that the Talaing church (which probably retained some
Mahay anist features) fell below it. In the fifteenth century
this view was universally accepted, the opposition and indeed
the separate existence of the Talaing church having come
to an end.
But it still remains uncertain whether the earliest Burmese
Buddhism came direct from Magadha or from the south. The
story of Asoka's missionaries cannot be summarily rejected
xxxvi] BURMA 61
but it also cannot be accepted without hesitation1. It is the
Ceylon chronicle which knows of them and communication
between Burma and southern India was old and persistent. It
may have existed even before the Christian era.
After the fall of Pagan, Upper Burma, of which we must
now speak, passed through troubled times and we hear little of
religion or literature. Though Ava was founded in 1364 it did
not become an intellectual centre for another century. But the
reign of Narapati (1442-1468) was ornamented by several writers
of eminence among whom may be mentioned the monk poet
Silavamsa and Ariyavamsa,. an exponent of the Abhidhamma.
They are noticeable as being the first writers to publish religious
works, either original or translated, in the vernacular and this
practice steadily increased. In the early part of the sixteenth
century2 occurred the only persecution of Buddhism known in
Burma. Thohanbwa, a Shan who had become king of Ava,
endeavoured to exterminate the order by deliberate massacre
and delivered temples, monasteries and libraries to the flames.
The persecution did not last long nor extend to other districts
but it created great indignation among the Burmese and was
perhaps one of the reasons why the Shan dynasty of Ava was
overthrown in 1555.
Bayin (or Bureng) Naung stands out as one of the greatest
personalities in Burmese history. As a Buddhist he was zealous
even to intolerance, since he forced the Shans and Moslims of
the northern districts, and indeed all his subjects, to make a
formal profession of Buddhism. He also, as related elsewhere,
made not very successful attempts to obtain the tooth relic
from Ceylon. But it is probable that his active patronage of
the faith, as shown in the construction and endowment of
religious buildings, was exercised chiefly in Pegu and this must
be the reason why the Sasanavamsa (which is interested chiefly
in Upper Burma) says little about him.
His successors showed little political capacity but encour
aged religion and literature. The study of the Abhidhamma was
1 In favour of it, it may be said that the Dipavamsa and the earlier traditions
on which the Dipavamsa is based are ancient and impartial witnesses: against it,
that Asoka's attention seems to have been directed westwards, not towards Bengal
and Burma, and that no very early proof of the existence of Buddhism in Burma
has been found.
2 Apparently about 1525-1530.
62 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
specially flourishing in the districts of Ava and Sagaing from
about 1600 to 1650 and found many illustrious exponents.
Besides works in Pali, the writers of this time produced numer
ous Burmese translations and paraphrases of Abhidhamma
works, as well as edifying stories.
In the latter part of the seventeenth century Burma was in
a disturbed condition and the Sasanavamsa says that religion
was dimmed as the moon by clouds. A national and religious
revival came with the victories of Alompra (1752 onwards), but
the eighteenth century also witnessed the rise of a curious and
not very edifying controversy which divided the Sangha for
about a hundred years and spread to Ceylon1. It concerned the
manner in which the upper robe of a monk, consisting of a long
piece of cloth, should be worn. The old practice in Burma was
to wrap this cloth round the lower body from the loins to the
ankles, and draw the end from the back over the left shoulder
and thence across the breast over the right shoulder so that it
finally hung loose behind. But about 1698 began the custom
of walking with the right shoulder bare, that is to say letting
the end of the robe fall down in front on the left side. The
Sangha became divided into two factions known as Ekamsika
(one-shouldered) and Pdrupana (fully clad). The bitterness of
the seemingly trivial controversy was increased by the fact
that the Ekamsikas could produce little scriptural warrant and
appealed to late authorities or the practice in Ceylon, thus
neglecting sound learning. For the Vinaya frequently2 pre
scribes that the robe is to be adjusted so as to fall over only one
shoulder as a mark of special respect, which implies that it was
usually worn over both shoulders. In 1712 and again about
twenty years later arbitrators were appointed by the king to
hear both sides, but they had not sufficient authority or learning
1 See Sdsanavamsa, pp. 118 ff.
2 E.g. Mahavagga, I. 29, 2; iv. 3, 3. Ekamsam uttarasangam karitva. But
both arrangements of drapery are found in the oldest images of the Buddha and
perhaps the Ekamsika fashion is the commoner. See Griinwedel, Buddhist Art in
India, 1901, p. 172. Though these images are considerably later than the Mahavagga
and prove nothing as to the original practice of the Sangha, yet they show that
the Ekamsika fashion prevailed at a relatively early period. It now prevails in
Siam and partly in Ceylon. I-Ching (chap, xi.) has a discussion on the way robes
were worn in India (c. 680 A.D.) which is very obscure but seems to say that monks
may keep their shoulders covered while in a monastery but should uncover one
when they go out.
xxxvi] BURMA 63
to give a decided opinion. The stirring political events of 1 740 and
the following years naturally threw ecclesiastical quarrels into the
shade but when the great Alompra had disposed of his enemies
he appeared as a modern Asoka. The court religiously observed
Uposatha days and the king was popularly believed to be a
Bodhisattva1. He was not however sound on the great question
of ecclesiastical dress. His chaplain, Atula, belonged to the
Ekamsika party and the king, saying that he wished to go into
the whole matter himself but had not for the moment leisure,
provisionally ordered the Sarigha to obey Atula's ruling. But
some champions of the other side stood firm. Alompra dealt
leniently with them, but died during his Siamese campaign
before he had time to unravel the intricacies of the Vinaya.
The influence of Atula, who must have been an astute if not
learned man, continued after the king's death and no measures
were taken against the Ekamsikas, although King Hsin-byu-shin
(1763-1776) persecuted an heretical sect called Paramats2. His
youthful successor, Sing-gu-sa, was induced to hold a public
disputation. The Ekamsikas were defeated in this contest and
a royal decree was issued making the Parupana discipline
obligatory. But the vexed question was not settled for it came
up again in the long reign (1781-1819) of Bodopaya. This king
has won an evil reputation for cruelty and insensate conceit3,
but he was a man of vigour and kept together his great empire.
His megalomania naturally detracted from the esteem won by
his piety. His benefactions to religion were lavish, the shrines
and monasteries which he built innumerable. But he desired to
build a pagoda larger than any in the world and during some
twenty years wasted an incalculable amount of labour and
money on this project, still commemorated by a gigantic but
unfinished mass of brickwork now in ruins. In order to supervise
its erection he left his palace and lived at Mingun, where he
1 S&sanav. p. 123. Sakala-Maramma-ratthavasino ca: ayam amhakam raja
bodhisatto ti voharimsu. In the Po-U-Daung inscription, Alompra's son, Hsin-
byu-shin. says twice "In virtue of this my good deed, may I become a Buddha,. . .
an omniscient one." Indian Antiquary, 1893, pp. 2 and 5. There is something
Mahayanist in this aspiration. Cf. too the inscriptions of the Siamese King Sri-
Suryavamsa Rama mentioned below.
2 They were Puritans who objected to shrines and images and are said to be
represented to-day by the Sawti sect.
8 See The Burmese. Empire by the Italian Father Sangermano, who went to
Burma in 1783 and lived there about 20 years.
64 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
conceived the idea that he was a Buddha, an idea which had
not been entirely absent from the minds of Alompra and Hsin-
byu-shin. It is to the credit of the Theras that, despite the
danger of opposing an autocrat as cruel as he was crazy, they
refused to countenance these pretensions and the king returned
to his palace as an ordinary monarch.
If he could not make himself a Buddha, he at least disposed
of the Ekamsika dispute, and was probably influenced in his
views by Sfanabhivamsa, a monk of the Parupana school whom
he made his chaplain, although Atula was still alive. At first
he named a commission of enquiry, the result of which was that
the Ekamsikas admitted that their practice could not be
justified from the scriptures but only by tradition. A royal
decree was issued enjoining the observance of the Parupana
discipline, but two years later Atula addressed a letter to the
king in which he maintained that the Ekamsika costume was
approved in a work called Culaganthipada, composed by
Moggalana, the immediate disciple of the Buddha. The king
ordered representatives of both parties to examine this conten
tion and the debate between them is dramatically described in
the Sasanavamsa. It was demonstrated that the text on which
Atula relied was composed in Ceylon by a thera named Moggalana
who lived in the twelfth century and that it quoted mediaeval
Sinhalese commentaries. After this exposure the Ekamsika party
collapsed. The king commanded (1784) the Parupana discipline
to be observed and at last the royal order received obedience.
It will be observed that throughout this controversy both
sides appealed to the king, as if he had the right to decide the
point in dispute, but that his decision had no compelling power
as long as it was not supported by evidence. He could ensure
toleration for views regarded by many as heretical, but was
unable to force the views of one party on the other until the
winning cause had publicly disproved the contentions of its
opponents. On the other hand the king had practical control
of the hierarchy, for his chaplain was de facto head of the
Church and the appointment was strictly personal. It was not
the practice for a king to take on his predecessor's chaplain and
the latter could not, like a Lamaist or Catholic ecclesiastic,
claim any permanent supernatural powers. Bodopaya did some
thing towards organizing the hierarchy for he appointed four
xxxvi] BURMA 65
elders of repute to be Sangharajas or, so to speak, Bishops,
with four more as assistants and over them all his chaplain
Sana as Archbishop. Sana was a man of energy and lived in turn
in various monasteries supervising the discipline and studies.
In spite of the extravagances of Bodopaya, the Church was
flourishing and respected in his reign. The celebrated image
called Mahamuni was transferred from Arakan to his capital
together with a Sanskrit library, and Burma sent to Ceylon not
only the monks who founded the Amarapura school but also
numerous Pali texts. This prosperity continued in the reigns of
Bagyidaw, Tharrawadi and Pagan-min, who were of little per
sonal account. The first ordered the compilation of the Yazawin,
a chronicle which was not original but incorporated and super
seded other works of the same kind. In his reign arose a question
as to the validity of grants of land, etc., for religious purposes.
It was decided in the sense most favourable to the order, viz.
that such grants are perpetual and are not invalidated by the
lapse of time. About 1845 there was a considerable output of
vernacular literature. The Digha, Samyutta and Anguttara
Nikayas with their commentaries were translated into Burmese
but no compositions in Pali are recorded.
From 1852 till 1877 Burma was ruled by Mindon-min, who
if not a national hero was at least a pious, peace-loving, capable
king. His chaplain, Pafifiasami, composed the Sasanavamsa, or
ecclesiastical history of Burma, and the king himself was am
bitious to figure as a great Buddhist monarch, though with more
sanity than Bodopaya, for his chief desire was to be known as
the Convener of the Fifth Buddhist Council. The body so styled
met from 1868 to 1871 and, like the ancient Sangitis, proceeded
to recite the Tipitaka in order to establish the correct text. The
result may still be seen at Mandalay in the collection of buildings
commonly known as the four hundred and fifty Pagodas: a
central Stupa surrounded by hundreds of small shrines each
sheltering a perpendicular tablet on which a portion of this
veritable bible in stone is inscribed. Mindon-min also corrected
the growing laxity of the Bhikkhus, and the esteem in which
the Burmese church was held at this time is shown by the fact
that the monks of Ceylon sent a deputation to the Sangharaja
of Mandalay referring to his decision a dispute about a simd or
ecclesiastical boundary.
66 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Mindon-min was succeeded by Thibaw, who was deposed by
the British. The Sarigharaja maintained his office until he died
in 1895. An interregnum then occurred for the appointment
had always been made by the king, not by the Sangha. But
when Lord Curzon visited Burma in 1 90 1 he made arrangements
for the election by the monks themselves of a superior of the
whole order and Taunggwin Sayadaw was solemnly installed in
this office by the British authorities in 1903 with the title of
Thathanabaing 1 .
We may now examine briefly some sides of popular religion
and institutions which are not Buddhist. It is an interesting
fact that the Burmese law books or Dhammathats2, which are
still accepted as regulating inheritance and other domestic
matters, are Indian in origin and show no traces of Sinhalese
influence although since 1750 there has been a decided tendency
to bring them into connection with authorities accepted by
Buddhism. The earliest of these codes are those of Dham-
mavilasa (1174 A.D.) and of Waguru, king of Martaban in 1280.
They professedly base themselves on the authority of Manu
and, so far as purely legal topics are concerned, correspond
pretty closely with the rules of the Manava-dharmasastra. But
they omit all prescriptions which involve Brahmanic religious
observances such as penance and sacrifice. Also the theory of
punishment is different and inspired by the doctrine of Karma,
namely, that every evil deed will bring its own retribution.
Hence the Burmese codes ordain for every crime not penalties
to be suffered by the criminal but merely the payment of com
pensation to the party aggrieved, proportionate to the damage
suffered3. It is probable that the law-books on which these
codes were based were brought from the east coast of India and
1 Thathana is the Pali Sasana. In Burmese pronunciation the s of Indian words
regularly appears as th (=0), r as y and j as z. Thus Thagya for Sakra, Yazawin for
Rajavamsa.
2 See E. Forchhammer, Jardine Prize Essay (on the sources and development
of Burmese Law), 1885. J. Jolly, "Recht und Sitte" in Grundriss der Ind. Ar. Phil
1896, pp. 41-44. M. H. Bode, Pali Lit. of Burma, pp. 83 ff. Dhammathat is the
Burmese pronunciation of Dhammasattha, Sanskrit Dharmasastra.
3 This theory did not prevent the kings of Burma and their subordinates from
inflicting atrociously cruel punishments.
xxxvi] BURMA 67
were of the same type as the code of Narada, which, though of
unquestioned Brahmanic orthodoxy, is almost purely legal and
has little to say about religion. A subsidiary literature embody
ing local decisions naturally grew up, and about 1640 was sum
marized by a Burmese nobleman called Kaing-za in theMaharaja-
dhammathat. He received from the king the title of Manuraja
and the name of Manu became connected with his code, though
it is really based on local custom. It appears to have superseded
older law-books until the reign of Alompra who remodelled the
administration and caused several codes to be compiled1. These
also preserve the name of Manu, but he and Kaing-za are
treated as the same personage. The rules of the older law-books
are in the main retained but are made to depend on Buddhist
texts. Later Dhammathats become more and more decidedly
Buddhist. Thus the Mohavicchedani (1832) does not mention
Manu but presents the substance of the Manu Dhammathats as
the law preached by the Buddha.
Direct Indian influence may be seen in another department
not unimportant in an oriental country. The court astrologers,
soothsayers and professors of kindred sciences were even in
recent times Brahmans, known as Ponna and mostly from
Manipur. An inscription found at Pagan and dated 1442 men
tions the gift of 295 books2 to the Sangha among which several
have Sanskrit titles and about 1600 we hear of Pandits learned
in the Vedasastras, meaning not Vedic learning in the strict
sense but combinations of science and magic described as
medicine, astronomy, Kamasastras, etc. Hindu tradition was
sufficiently strong at the Court to make the presence of experts
in the Atharva Veda seem desirable and in the capital they were
in request for such services as drawing up horoscopes3 and
1 Forchhammer gives a list of 39 Dhammathats compiled between 1753 and
1882.
2 They seem to have included tantric works of the Mahakalacakra type. See
Bode, Pali Lit. of Burma, p. 108, Nos. 270, 271. But the name is given in the Pali
form cakka.
3 Among usages borrowed from Hinduism may be mentioned the daily washing
in holy water of the image in the Arakan temple at Mandalay. Formerly court
festivities, such as the New Year's feast and the festival of ploughing, were per
formed by Ponnas and with Indian rites. On the other hand the Ramayana does
not seem to have the same influence on art and literature that it has had in Siam
and Java, though scenes from it are sometimes depicted. See Report, Supt.
Archaeolog. Survey, Burma, 1908, p. 22.
68 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
invoking good luck at weddings whereas monks will not attend
social gatherings.
More important as a non-Buddhist element in Burmese
religion is the worship of Nats1 or spirits of various kinds. Of
the prevalence of such worship there is no doubt, but I cannot
agree with the authorities who say that it is the practical
religion of the Burmese. No passing tourist can fail to see that
in the literal as well as figurative sense Burma takes its colour
from Buddhism, from the gilded and vermilion pagodas and
the yellow robed priests. It is impossible that so much money
should be given, so many lives dedicated to a religion which
had not a real hold on the hearts of the people. The worship of
Nats, wide -spread though it be, is humble in its outward signs
and is a superstition rather than a creed. On several occasions
the kings of Burma have suppressed its manifestations when
they became too conspicuous. Thus Anawrata destroyed the
Nat houses of Pagan and recent kings forbade the practice of
firing guns at funerals to scare the evil spirits.
Nats are of at least three classes, or rather have three
origins. Firstly they are nature spirits, similar to those revered
in China and Tibet. They inhabit noticeable natural features of
every kind, particularly trees, rivers and mountains ; they may
be specially connected with villages, houses or individuals.
Though not essentially evil they are touchy and vindictive,
punishing neglect or discourtesy with misfortune and ill-luck.
No explanation is offered as to the origin of many Nats, but
others, who may be regarded as forming the second category,
are ghosts or ancestral spirits. In northern Burma Chinese
influence encouraged ancestor worship, but apart from this
there is a disposition (equally evident in India) to believe that
violent and uncanny persons and those who meet with a tragic
death become powerful ghosts requiring propitiation. Thirdly,
there are Nats who are at least in part identified with the Indian
deities recognized by early Buddhism. It would seem that the
Thirty Seven Nats, described in a work called the Mahagita
Medanigyan, correspond to the Thirty Three Gods of Buddhist
mythology, but that the number has been raised for unknown
1 See especially The Thirty Seven Nats by Sir R. C. Temple, 1906, and Burma
by Sir J. G. Scott, 1906, pp. 380 £E. The best authorities seem agreed that Nat is
not the Sanskrit Natha but an indigenous word of unknown derivation.
xxxvi] BURMA 69
reasons to 37 l. They are spirits of deceased heroes, and there is
nothing unbuddhist in this conception, for the Pitakas fre
quently represent deserving persons as being reborn in the
Heaven of the Thirty Three. The chief is Thagya, the Sakra or
Indra of Hindu mythology2, but the others are heroes, connected
with five cycles of legends based on a popular and often inac
curate version of Burmese history3.
Besides Thagya Nat we find other Indian figures such as
Man Nat (Mara) and Byamma Nat (Brahma). In diagrams
illustrating the Buddhist cosmology of the Burmans4 a series of
heavens is depicted, ascending from those of the Four Kings
and Thirty Three Gods up to the Brahma worlds, and each in
habited by Nats according to their degree. Here the spirits of
Burma are marshalled and classified according to Buddhist
system just as were the spirits of India some centuries before.
But neither in ancient India nor in modern Burma have the
devas or Nats anything to do with the serious business of
religion. They have their place in temples as guardian genii and
the whole band may be seen in a shrine adjoining the Shwe-zi-
gon Pagoda at Pagan, but this interferes no more with the
supremacy of the Buddha than did the deputations of spirits
who according to the scriptures waited on him.
Buddhism is a real force in Burmese life and the pride of
the Burmese people. Every male Burman enters a monastery
when he is about 15 for a short stay. Devout parents send their
sons for the four months of Was (or even for this season during
three successive years), but by the majority a period of from
one month to one week is considered sufficient. To omit this
stay in a monastery altogether would not be respectable: it is
in common esteem the only way to become a human being, for
without it a boy is a mere animal. The praises of the Buddha
1 Possibly in order to include four female spirits: or possibly because it was fel
that sundry later heroes had as strong a claim to membership of this distinguished
body as the original 33.
2 It is noticeable that Thagya comes from the Sanskrit Sakra not the Pali
Sakka. Th = Sk. s: y = Sk. r.
8 See R. C. Temple, The Thirty Seven Nats, chaps, x.-xin., for these cycles.
4 E.g. R. C. Temple, I.e. p. 36.
70 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
and vows to lead a good life are commonly recited by the laity1
every morning and evening. It is the greatest ambition of
most Burmans to build a pagoda and those who are able to do
so (a large percentage of the population to judge from the
number of buildings) are not only sure of their reward in
another birth but even now enjoy respect and receive the title
of pagoda-builder. Another proof of devotion is the existence
of thousands of monasteries2 — perhaps on an average more than
two for each large village and town — built and supported by
voluntary contributions. The provision of food and domicile for
their numerous inmates is no small charge on the nation, but
observers are agreed that it is cheerfully paid and that the
monks are worthy of what they receive. In energy and morality
they seem, as a class, superior to their brethren in Ceylon and
Siam, and their services to education and learning have been
considerable. Every monastery is also a school, where instruc
tion is given to both day boys and boarders. The vast majority
of Burmans enter such a school at the age of eight or nine and
learn there reading, writing, and arithmetic. They also receive
religious instruction and moral training. They commit to
memory various works in Pali and Burmese, and are taught the
duties which they owe to themselves, society and the state.
Sir J. G. Scott, who is certainly not disposed to exaggerate the
influence of Buddhism in Burma, says that "the education of
the monasteries far surpasses the instruction of the Anglo -
vernacular schools from every point of view except that of
immediate success in life and the obtaining of a post under
Government3." The more studious monks are not merely
schoolmasters but can point to a considerable body of literature
which they have produced in the past and are still producing4.
Indeed among the Hinayanist churches that of Burma has in
recent centuries held the first place for learning. The age and
continuity of Sinhalese traditions have given the Sangha of
Ceylon a correspondingly great prestige but it has more than
1 According to Sir J. G. Scott much more commonly than prayers among
Christians. Burma, p. 366.
* 15,371 according to the census of 1891. The figures in the last census are not
conveniently arranged for Buddhist statistics.
3 Hastings' EncycL of Religion and Ethics, art. "Burma (Buddhism)."
4 See Bode, Pali Literature in Burma, pp. 95 ff.
xxxvi] BURMA 71
once been recruited from Burma and in literary output it can
hardly rival the Burmese clergy.
Though many disquisitions on the Vinaya have been pro
duced in Burma, and though the Jatakas and portions of the
Sutta Pitaka (especially those called Parittam) are known to
everybody, yet the favourite study of theologians appears to
be the Abhidhamma, concerning which a multitude of hand
books and commentaries have been written, but it is worth
mentioning that the Abhidhammattha-sangaha, composed in
Ceylon about the twelfth century A.D., is still the standard man
ual1. Yet it would be a mistake to think of the Burmese monks
as absorbed in these recondite studies : they have on the contrary
produced a long series of works dealing with the practical
things of the world, such as chronicles, law-books, ethical and
political treatises, and even poetry, for Silavamsa and Rattha-
pala whose verses are still learned by the youth of Burma were
both of them Bhikkhus. The Sangha has always shown a laud
able reserve in interfering directly with politics, but in former
times the king's private chaplain was a councillor of importance
and occasionally matters involving both political and religious
questions were submitted to a chapter of the order. In all cases
the influence of the monks in secular matters made for justice
and peace: they sometimes interceded on behalf of the con
demned or represented that taxation was too heavy. In 1886,
when the British annexed Burma, the Head of the Sangha for
bade monks to take part in the political strife, a prohibition
which was all the more remarkable because King Thibaw had
issued proclamations saying that the object of the invasion was
to destroy Buddhism.
In essentials monastic life is much the same in Burma and
Ceylon but the Burmese standard is higher, and any monk
known to miscon'duct himself would be driven out by the laity.
The monasteries are numerous but not large and much space
is wasted, for, though the exterior suggests that they are built
in several stories the interior usually is a single hall, although it
may be divided by partitions. To the eastern side is attached a
chapel containing images of Gotama before which daily devotions
1 No less than 22 translations of it have been made into Burmese. See S. Z.
Aung in J.P.T.S. 1912, p. 129. He also mentions that night lectures on the Abhi
dhamma in Burmese are given in monasteries.
72 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
are performed. It is surmounted by a steeple culminating in
a kti, a sort of baldachino or sacred umbrella placed also on
the top of dagobas, and made of open metal work hung with
little bells. Monasteries are always built outside towns and,
though many of them become subsequently enclosed by the
growth of the larger cities, they retain spacious grounds in
which there may be separate buildings, such as a library, dor
mitories for pupils and a hall for performing the ordination
service. The average number of inmates is six. A large establish
ment may house a superior, four monks, some novices and
besides them several lay scholars. The grades are Sahin or
novice, Pyit-shin or fully ordained monk and Pongyi, literally
great glory, a monk of at least ten years' standing. Bank de
pends on seniority — that is to say the greatest respect is shown
to the monk who has observed his vows for the longest period,
but there are some simple hierarchical arrangements. At the
head of each monastery is a Saya or superior, and all the
monasteries of a large town or a country district are under the
supervision of a Provincial called Gaing-Ok. At the head of
the whole church is the Thathanabaing, already mentioned.
All these higher officials must be Pongyis.
Although all monks must take part in the daily round to
collect alms yet in most monasteries it is the custom (as in
Ceylon and Siam) not to eat the food collected, or at least not
all of it, and though no solid nourishment is taken after midday,
three morning meals are allowed, namely, one taken very early,
the next served on the return from the begging round and a
third about 11.30. Two or three services are intoned before the
image of the Buddha each day. At the morning ceremony,
which takes place about 5.30, all the inmates of the monastery
prostrate themselves before the superior and vow to observe
the precepts during the day. At the conclusion of the evening
service a novice announces that a day has passed away and in
a loud voice proclaims the hour, the day of the week, the day
of the month and the year. The laity do not usually attend these
services, but near large monasteries there are rest houses for
the entertainment of visitors and Uposatha days are often
celebrated by a pious picnic. A family or party of friends take
a rest-house for a day, bring a goodly store of cheroots and betel
nut, which are not regarded as out of place during divine
xxxvi] BURMA 73
service1, and listen at their ease to the exposition of the law
delivered by a yellow-robed monk. When the congregation in
cludes women he holds a large fan-leaf palm before his face lest
his eyes should behold vanity. A custom which might not be
to the taste of western ecclesiastics is that the congregation ask
questions and, if they do not understand, request the preacher
to be clearer.
There is little sectarianism in Burma proper, but the Sawtis,
an anti-clerical sect, are found in some numbers in the Shan
States and similar communities called Man are still met with
in Pegu and Tenasserim, though said to be disappearing. Both
refuse to recognize the Sangha, monasteries or temples and per
form their devotions in the open fields. Otherwise their mode
of thought is Buddhist, for they hold that every man can work
out his own salvation by conquering Mara2, as the Buddha did,
and they use the ordinary formulae of worship, except that
they omit all expressions of reverence to the Sangha. The ortho
dox Sangha is divided into two schools known as Mahagandi
and Sulagandi. The former are the moderate easy-going
majority who maintain a decent discipline but undeniably
deviate somewhat from the letter of the Vinaya. The latter are
a strict and somewhat militant Puritan minority who protest
against such concessions to the flesh. They insist for instance
that a monk should eat out of his begging bowl exactly as it is
at the end of the morning round and they forbid the use of silk
robes, sunshades and sandals. The Sulagandi also believe in free
will and attach more value to the intention than the action in
estimating the value of good deeds, whereas the Mahagandi
accept good actions without enquiring into the motive and
believe that all deeds are the result of karma.
In Burma all the higher branches of architecture are almost
exclusively dedicated to religion. Except the Palace at Manda-
lay there is hardly a native building of note which is not con
nected with a shrine or monastery. Burmese architectural
1 But on such occasions the laity usually fast after midday.
2 Man is the Burmese form of Mara.
74 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
forms show most analogy to those of Nepal and perhaps1 both
preserve what was once the common style for wooden buildings
in ancient India. In recent centuries the Burmese have shown
little inclination to build anything that can be called a temple,
that is a chamber containing images and the paraphernalia of
worship. The commonest form of religious edifice is the dagoba
or zedi2: images are placed in niches or shrines, which shelter
them, but only rarely, as on the platform of the Shwe Dagon at
Rangoon, assume the proportions of rooms. This does not apply
to the great temples of Pagan, built from about 1050 to 1200,
but that style was not continued and except the Arakan
Pagoda at Mandalay has perhaps no modern representative.
Details of these buildings may be found in the works of Forch-
hammer, Fergusson, de Beylie and various archaeological re
ports. Their construction is remarkably solid. They do not, like
most large buildings in India or Europe, contain halls of some
size but are rather pyramids traversed by passages. But this
curious disinclination to build temples of the usual kind is not
due to any dislike of images. In no Buddhist country are they
more common and their numbers are more noticeable because
there is here no pantheon as in China and Tibet, but images of
Gotama are multiplied, merely in order to obtain merit. Some
slight variety in these figures is produced by the fact that the
Burmese venerate not only Gotama but the three Buddhas who
preceded him3. The Shwe Dagon Pagoda is reputed to contain
relics of all four; statues of them all stand in the beautiful
Ananda Pagoda at Pagan and not infrequently they are repre
sented by four sitting figures facing the four quarters. A gigantic
group of this kind composed of statues nearly 90 feet high
1 Among the most striking characteristics of the Nepalese style are buildings of
many stories each with a projecting roof. No examples of similar buildings from
ancient India have survived, perhaps because they were made of wood, but repre
sentations of two-storied buildings have come down to us, for instance on the
Sohgaura copper plate which dates probably from the time of Asoka (see Biihler,
W.Z.K.M. 1896, p. 138). See also the figures in Foucher's Art Greco-bouddhique du
Gandhdra, on pp. 121, 122. The monuments at Mamallapuram known as Raths
(see Fergusson, Indian and Eastern Architecture, I. p. 172) appear to be representa
tions of many storied Viharas. There are several references to seven storied buildings
in the Jatakas.
2 = cetiya.
3 Occasionally groups of five Buddhas, that is, these four Buddhas together
with Metteyya, are found. See Report of the Supt. Arch. Survey (Burma] for the year
ending March 3Ist, 1910, p. 16.
xxxvi]
BURMA
75
stands in the outskirts of Pegu, and in the same neighbourhood
is a still larger recumbent figure 180 feet long. It had been for
gotten since the capture of Pegu by the Burmans in 1757 and
was rediscovered by the engineers surveying the route for the
railway. It lies almost in sight of the line and is surprising by
its mere size, as one comes upon it suddenly in the jungle. As
a wo?k of art it can hardly be praised. It does not suggest the
Buddha on his death bed, as is intended, but rather some huge
spirit of the jungle waking up and watching the railway with
indolent amusement.
In Upper Burma there are not so many large images but as
one approaches Mandalay the pagodas add more and more to
the landscape. Many are golden and the rest are mostly white
and conspicuous. They crown the hills and punctuate the wind
ings of the valleys. Perhaps Burmese art and nature are seen
at their best near Sagaing on the bank of the Irrawaddy, a
mighty flood of yellow water, sweeping down smooth and steady,
but here and there showing whirlpools that look like molten
metal. From the shore rise hills of moderate height studded
with monasteries and shrines. Flights of white steps lead to the
principal summits where golden spires gleam and everywhere
are pagodas of all ages, shapes and sizes. Like most Asiatics the
Burmese rarely repair, but build new pagodas instead of reno
vating the old ones. The instinct is not altogether unjust. A
pagoda does not collapse like a hollow building but understands
the art of growing old. Like a tree it may become cleft or over
grown with moss but it remains picturesque. In the neighbour
hood of Sagaing there is a veritable forest of pagodas; humble
seedlings built by widows' mites, mature golden domes reared
by devout prosperity and venerable ruins decomposing as all
compound things must do.
The pagoda slaves are a curious institution connected with
temples. Under the Burmese kings persons could be dedicated
to pagodas and by this process not only became slaves for life
themselves but involved in the same servitude all their posterity,
none of whom could by any method become free. They formed
a low caste like the Indian Pariahs and though the British
Government has aoolished the legal status of slavery, the social
stigma which clings to them is said to be undiminished.
Art and architecture make the picture of Burma as it
6
E. III.
76 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
remains in memory and they are the faithful reflection of the
character and ways of its inhabitants, their cheerful but religious
temper, their love of what is fanciful and graceful, their moder
ate aspirations towards what is arduous and sublime. The most
striking feature of this architecture is its free use of gold and
colour. In no country of the world is gilding and plating with
gold so lavishly employed on the exterior of buildings. The
larger Pagodas such as the Shwe Dagon are veritable pyramids
of gold, and the roofs of the Arakan temple as they rise above
Mandalay show tier upon tier of golden beams and plates. The
brilliancy is increased by the equally lavish use of vermilion,
sometimes diversified by glass mosaic. I remember once in an
East African jungle seeing a clump of flowers of such brilliant
red and yellow that for a moment I thought it was a fire.
Somewhat similar is the surprise with which one first gazes on
these edifices. I do not know whether the epithet flamboyant
can be correctly applied to them as architecture but both in
colour and shape they imitate a pile of flame, for the outlines
of monasteries and shrines are fanciful in the extreme; gabled
roofs with finials like tongues of fire and panels rich with
carvings and fret-work. The buildings of Hindus and Burmans
are as different as their characters. When a Hindu temple is
imposing it is usually because of its bulk and mystery, whereas
these buildings are lighthearted and fairy-like : heaps of red and
yellow fruit with twining leaves and tendrils that have grown
by magic. Nor is there much resemblance to Japanese archi
tecture. There also, lacquer and gold are employed to an unusual
extent but the flourishes, horns and finials which in Burma
spring from every corner and projection are wanting and both
Japanese and Chinese artists are more sparing and reticent.
They distribute ornament so as to emphasize and lead up to
the more important parts of their buildings, whereas the open-
handed, splendour-loving Burman puts on every panel and
pillar as much decoration as it will hold.
The result must be looked at as a whole and not too minutely.
The best work is the wood carving which has a freedom and
boldness often missing in the minute and crowded designs of
Indian art. Still as a rule it is at the risk of breaking the spell
that you examine the details of Burmese ornamentation. Better
rest content with your first amazement on beholding these
xxxvi] BURMA 77
carved and pinnacled piles of gold and vermilion, where the
fantastic animals and plants seem about to break into life.
The most celebrated shrine in Burma is the Shwe Dagon
Pagoda which attracts pilgrims from all the Buddhist world.
No descriptions of it gave me any idea of its real appearance
nor can I hope that I shall be more successful in giving the
reader my own impressions. The pagoda itself is a gilt bell-
shaped mass rather higher than the Dome of St Paul's and
terminating in a spire. It is set in the centre of a raised mound
or platform, approached by lofty flights of steps. The platform,
which is paved and level, is of imposing dimensions, some nine
hundred feet long and seven hundred wide. Round the base of
the central pagoda is a row of shrines and another row runs
round the edge of the platform so that one moves, as it were, in
a street of these edifices, leading here and there into side
squares where are quiet retreats with palm trees and gigantic
images. But when after climbing the long staircase one first
emerges on the platform one does not realize the topography
at once and seems to have entered suddenly into Jerusalem the
Golden. Right and left are rows of gorgeous, fantastic sanc
tuaries, all gold, vermilion and glass mosaic, and within them
sit marble figures, bland, enigmatic personages who seem to
invite approach but offer no explanation of the singular scene
or the part they play in it. If analyzed in detail the artistic
merits of these shrines might be found small but the total
impression is unique. The Shwe Dagon has not the qualities
which usually distinguish great religious buildings. It is not
specially impressive by its majesty or holiness; it is certainly
wanting in order and arrangement. But on entering the plat
form one feels that one has suddenly passed from this life into
another and different world. It is not perhaps a very elevated
world; certainly not the final repose of the just or the steps of
the throne of God, but it is as if you were walking in the bazaars
of Paradise — one of those Buddhist Paradises where the souls
of the moderately pure find temporary rest from the whirl of
transmigration, where the very lotus flowers are golden and the
leaves of the trees are golden bells that tinkle in the perfumed
breeze.
CHAPTER XXXVII
SIAM1
THE Buddhism of Siam does not differ materially from that of
Burma and Ceylon but merits separate mention, since it has
features of its own due in some measure to the fact that Siam
is still an independent kingdom ruled by a monarch who is also
head of the Church. But whereas for the last few centuries this
kingdom may be regarded as a political and religious unit, its
condition in earlier times was different and Siamese history
tells us nothing of the introduction and first diffusion of Indian
religions in the countries between India and China.
1 The principal sources for information about Siamese Buddhism are: Journal
of Siam Society, 1904, and onwards.
L. Fournereau, Le Siam Ancien, 2 vols. 1895 and 1908 in Annales du Muse"e
Ouimet. Cited here as Fournereau.
Mission Pavie II, Histoire du Laos, du Cambodge et du Siam, 1898.
Gerini, Researches on Ptolemy's Geography of Eastern Asia, 1909. Cited here as
Gerini, Ptolemy.
Gerini, Chuldkantamangala or Tonsure Ceremony, 1893.
H. Alabaster, The Wheel of the Law, 1871.
P. A. Thompson, Lotus Land, 1906.
W. A. Graham, Siam, 1912.
Petithuguenin, "Notes critiques pour servir a 1'histoire du Siam," B.E.F.E.O.
1916, No. 3.
Coedes, "Documents sur la Dynastie de Sukhodaya," ib. 1917, No. 2.
Much curious information may be found in the Directory for Bangkok and Siam,
a most interesting book. I have only the issue for 1907.
I have adopted the conventional European spelling for such words as may be
said to have one. For other words I have followed Pallegoix's dictionary (1896)
for rendering the vowels and tones in Roman characters, but have departed in
some respects from his system of transliterating consonants as I think it unnecessary
and misleading to write j and x for sounds which apparently correspond to y and
ch as pronounced in English.
The King of Siam has published a work on the spelling of His Majesty's own
language in Latin letters which ought to be authoritative, but it came into my
hands too late for me to modify the orthography here adopted.
As Pallegoix's spelling involves the use of a great many accents I have some
times begun by using the strictly correct orthography and afterwards a simpler but
intelligible form. It should be noted that in this orthography ":" is not a colon
but a sign that the vowel before it is very short.
CH. XXX VTl]
SIAM
79
The people commonly known as Siamese call themselves
Thai which (in the form Tai) appears to be the racial name of
several tribes who can be traced to the southern provinces of
China. They spread thence, in fanlike fashion, from Laos to
Assam, and the middle section ultimately descended the Menam
to the sea. The Siamese claim to have assumed the name Thai
(free) after they threw off the yoke of the Cambojans, but this
derivation is more acceptable to politics than to ethnology.
The territories which they inhabited were known as Siern,
Syam or Syama, which is commonly identified with the Sanskrit
(Syama, dark or brown1. But the names Shan and A-hom seem
to be variants of the same word and Syama is possibly not its
origin but a learned and artificial distortion2. The Lao were
another division of the same race who occupied the country
now called Laos before the Tai had moved into Siam. This
movement was gradual and until the beginning of the twelfth
century they merely established small principalities, the princi
pal of which was Lamphun3, on the western arm of the Mekong.
They gradually penetrated into the kingdoms of Svankalok,
Sukhothai4 and Lavo (Lophburi) which then were vassals of
Camboja, and they were reinforced by another body of Tais
which moved southwards early in the twelfth century. For
some time the Cambojan Empire made a successful effort to
control these immigrants but in the latter part of the thirteenth
century the Siamese definitely shook off its yoke and founded
an independent state with its capital at Sukhothai. There was
probably some connection between these events and the south
ern expeditions of Khubilai Khan who in 1254 conquered Talifu
and set the Tai tribes in motion.
The history of their rule in Siam may be briefly described as
a succession of three kingdoms with capitals at Sukhothai,
Ayuthia and Bangkok respectively. Like the Burmese, the
Siamese have annals or chronicles. They fall into two divisions,
1 The name is found on Champan inscriptions of 1050 A.D. and according to
Gerini appears in Ptolemy's Samarade = Samarattha. See Gerini, Ptolemy, p. 170.
But Samarade is located near Bangkok and there can hardly have been Tais there
in Ptolemy's time.
2 So too in Central Asia Kustana appears to be a learned distortion of the name
Khotan, made to give it a meaning in Sanskrit.
3 Gerini states (Ptolemy, p. 107) that there are Pali manuscript chronicles of
Lamphun apparently going back to 924 A.D.
4 Strictly Sukhothai.
80 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
the chronicles1 of the northern kingdom in three volumes which
go down to the foundation of Ayuthia and are admitted even
by the Siamese to be mostly fabulous, and the later annals in
40 volumes which were rearranged after the sack of Ayuthia in
1767 but claim to begin with the foundation of the city. Various
opinions have been expressed as to their trustworthiness2, but
it is allowed by all that they must be used with caution. More
authoritative but not very early are the inscriptions set up by
various kings, of which a considerable number have been
published and translated3.
The early history of Sukhothai and its kings is not yet
beyond dispute but a monarch called Ramaraja or Rama
Khomheng played a considerable part in it. His identity with
Phaya Ruang, who is said to have founded the dynasty and
city, has been both affirmed and denied. Sukhothai, at least as
the designation of a kingdom, seems to be much older than his
reign4. It was undoubtedly understood as the equivalent of the
Sanskrit Sukhodaya, but like Syama it may be an adaptation
of some native word. In an important inscription found at
Sukhothai and now preserved at Bangkok5, which was probably
composed about 1300 A.D., Rama Khomheng gives an account of
his kingdom. On the east it extended to the banks of the
Mekhong and beyond it to Chava (perhaps a name of Luang-
Prabang) : on the south to the sea, as far as Sri Dharmaraja or
Ligor: on the west to Hamsavati or Pegu. This last statement
is important for it enables us to understand how at this period,
and no doubt considerably earlier, the Siamese were acquainted
with Pali Buddhism. The king states that hitherto his people
had no alphabet but that he invented one6. This script subse-
1 Phongsa va: dan or Vamsavada. See for Siamese chronicles, B.E.F.E.O. 1914,
No. 3, "Recension palie des annales d' Ayuthia," and ibid. 1916, pp. 5-7.
2 E.g. Aymonier in J.A. 1903, p. 186, and Gerini in Journal of Siam Society,
vol. n. part 1, 1905.
3 See especially Fournereau and the publications of the Mission Pavie and
B.E.F.E.O.
* Gerini, Ptolemy, p. 176.
6 See Fournereau, i. p. 225. B.E.F.E.O. 1916, in. pp. 8-13, and especially
Bradley in J. Siam Society, 1909, pp. 1-68.
6 This alphabet appears to be borrowed from Cambojan but some of the
letters particularly in their later shapes show the influence of the Mon or Talaing
script. The modern Cambojan alphabet, which is commonly used for ecclesiastical
purposes in Siam, is little more than an elaborate form of Siamese.
xxxvii] SIAM 81
quently developed into the modern Siamese writing which,
though it presents many difficulties, is an ingenious attempt
to express a language with tones in an alphabet. The vocabulary
of Siamese is not homogeneous : it comprises (a) a foundation of
Thai, (6) a considerable admixture of Khmer words, (c) an
element borrowed from Malay and other languages, (d) numer
ous ecclesiastical and learned terms taken from Pali and San
skrit. There are five tones which must be distinguished, if either
written or spoken speech is to be intelligible. This is done partly
by accents and partly by dividing the forty-four consonants
(many of which are superfluous for other purposes) into three
groups, the high, middle and deep.
The king also speaks of religion. The court and the inhabi
tants of Sukhothai were devout Buddhists: they observed the
season of Vassa and celebrated the festival of Kathina with
processions, concerts and reading of the scriptures. In the city
were to be seen statues of the Buddha and scenes carved in
relief, as well as large monasteries. To the west of the city was
the Forest Monastery, presented to a distinguished elder who
came from Sri Dharmaraja and had studied the whole Tripitaka.
The mention of this official and others suggests that there was a
regular hierarchy and the king relates how he exhumed certain
sacred relics and built a pagoda over them. Though there is no
direct allusion to Brahmanism, stress is laid on the worship of
spirits and devas on which the prosperity of the kingdom de
pends.
The form of Buddhism described seems to have differed
little from the Hinayanism found in Siam to-day. Whence did
the Siamese obtain it? For some centuries before they were
known as a nation, they probably professed some form of
Indian religion. They came from the border lands, if not from
the actual territory of China, and must have been acquainted
with Chinese Buddhism. Also Burmese influence probably
reached Yunnan in the eighth century1, but it is not easy to
say what form of religion it brought with it. Still when the
Thai entered what is now Siam, it is likely that their religion
was some form of Buddhism. While they were subject to Cam-
bo j a they must have felt the influence of Sivaism and possibly
1 See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 161.
82 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
of Mahayanist Sanskrit Buddhism but no Pali Buddhism can
have come from this quarter1.
Southern Siam was however to some extent affected by
another wave of Buddhism. From early times the eastern coast
of India (and perhaps Ceylon) had intercourse not only with
Burma but with the Malay Peninsula. It is proved by inscrip
tions that the region of Ligor, formerly known as Sri Dhar-
maraja, was occupied by Hindus (who were probably Buddhists)
at least as early as the fourth century A.D.2, and Buddhist
inscriptions have been found on the mainland opposite Penang.
The Chinese annals allude to a change in the customs of Camboja
and I-Ching says plainly that Buddhism once flourished there
but was exterminated by a wicked king, which may mean that
Hinayanist Buddhism had spread thither from Ligor but was
suppressed by a dynasty of Sivaites. He also says that at the
end of the seventh century Hinayanism was prevalent in the
islands of the Southern Sea. An inscription of about the fourth
century found in Kedah and another of the seventh or eighth
from Phra Pathom both contain the formula Ye dharmd, etc.
The latter inscription and also one from Mergui ascribed to the
eleventh century seem to be in mixed Sanskrit and Pali. The
Sukhothai inscription summarized above tells how a learned
monk was brought thither from Ligor and clearly the Pali
Buddhism of northern Siam may have followed the same route.
But it probably had also another more important if not exclusive
source, namely Burma. After the reign of Anawrata Pali Bud
dhism was accepted in Burma and in what we now call the
Shan States as the religion of civilized mankind and this con
viction found its way to the not very distant kingdom of
Sukhothai. Subsequently the Siamese recognized the seniority
and authority of the Sinhalese Church by inviting an instructor
to come from Ceylon, but in earlier times they can hardly have
had direct relation with the island.
1 Bradley, J. Siam Society, 1913, p. 10, seems to think that Pali Buddhism may
have come thence but the objection is that we know a good deal about the religion
of Camboja and that there is no trace of Pali Buddhism there until it was imported
from Siam. The fact that the Siamese alphabet was borrowed from Camboja does
not prove that religion was borrowed in the same way. The Mongol alphabet can
be traced to a Nestorian source.
2 See for these inscriptions papers on the Malay Peninsula and Siam by Finot
and Lajonquiere in Bull, de la Comm. Archeol. de I'Indo-Chine, 1909, 1910 and 1912.
xxxvn] SIAM 83
We have another picture of religious life in a Khmer inscrip
tion1 of Lidaiya or Sri Suryavamsa Rama composed in 1361 or
a little later. This monarch, who is also known by many lengthy
titles, appears to have been a man of learning who had studied
the Tipitaka, the Vedas, the Sastragama and Dharmanaya and
erected images of Mahesvara and Vishnu as well as of the
Buddha. In 1361 he sent a messenger to Ceylon charged with
the task of bringing back a Metropolitan or head of the Sahgha
learned in the Pitakas. This ecclesiastic, who is known only by
his title, was duly sent and on arriving in Siam was received
with the greatest honour and made a triumphal progress to
Sukhothai. He is not represented as introducing a new religion:
the impression left by the inscription is rather that the king
and his people being already well-instructed in Buddhism de
sired ampler edification from an authentic source. The arrival
of the Sarigharaja coincided with the beginning of Vassa and
at the end of the sacred season the king dedicated a golden
image of the Buddha, which stood in the midst of the city, and
then entered the order. In doing so he solemnly declared his
hope that the merit thus acquired might make him in future
lives not an Emperor, an Indra or a Brahma but a Buddha
able to save mankind. He pursued his religious career with a
gratifying accompaniment of miracles and many of the nobility
and learned professions followed his example. But after a
while a deputation waited on his Majesty begging him to return
to the business of his kingdom2. An edifying contest ensued.
The monks besought him to stay as their preceptor and guide :
the laity pointed out that government was at an end and
claimed his attention. The matter was referred to the Sarigharaja
who decided that the king ought to return to his secular duties.
He appears to have found little difficulty in resuming lay habits
for he proceeded to chastise the people of Luang -Prabang.
Two other inscriptions3, apparently dating from this epoch,
1 Fournereau, pp. 157 ff. and Coedes in B.E.F.E.O. 1917, No. 2. Besides the
inscription itself, which is badly defaced in parts, we have (1) a similar inscription
in Thai, which is not however a translation, (2) a modern Siamese translation, used
by Schmitt but severely criticised by Coedes and Petithuguenin.
2 This portion of the narrative is found only in Schmitt's version of the Siamese
translation. The part of the stone where it would have occurred is defaced.
3 See Fournereau, vol. n. inscriptions xv and xvi and the account of the Jatakas,
p. 43.
84 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
relate that a cutting of the Bo-tree was brought from Ceylon
and that certain relics (perhaps from Patna) were also installed
with great solemnity. To the same time are referred a series of
engravings on stone (not reliefs) found in the Vat-si-jum at
Sukhothai. They illustrate about 100 Jatakas, arranged for
the most part according to the order followed in the Pali
Canon.
The facts that King Sri Suryavamsa sent to Ceylon for his
Metropolitan and that some of the inscriptions which extol his
merits are in Pali1 make it probable that the religion which he
professed differed little from the Pali Buddhism which nourishes
in Siam to-day and this supposition is confirmed by the general
tone of his inscriptions. But still several phrases in them have
a Mahay anist flavour. He takes as his model the conduct of the
Bodhisattvas, described as ten headed by Metteyya, and his vow
to become a Buddha and save all creatures is at least twice
mentioned. The Buddhas are said to be innumerable and the
feet of Bhikkhus are called Buddha feet2. There is no difficulty
in accounting for the presence of such ideas : the only question
is from what quarter this Mahayanist influence came. The king
is said to have been a student of Indian literature : his country,
like Burma, was in touch with China and his use of the Khmer
language indicates contact with Camboja.
Another inscription engraved by order of Dharmasokaraja3
and apparently dating from the fourteenth century is remark
able for its clear statement of the doctrine (generally considered
as Mahayanist) that merit acquired by devotion to the Buddha
can be transferred. The king states that a woman called Bun-
rak has transferred all her merit to the Queen and that he him
self makes over all his merit to his teacher, to his relations and
to all beings in unhappy states of existence.
At some time in this period the centre of the Thai empire
1 Fournereau, i. pp. 247, 273. B.E.F.E.O. 1917, No. 2, p. 29.
2 See the texts in B.E.F.E.O. I.e. The Bodhisattvas are described as Ariyamette-
yadinam dasannam Bodhisattanam. The vow to become a Buddha should it seems
be placed in the mouth of the King, not of the Metropolitan as in Schmitt's trans
lation.
3 See Fournereau, pp. 209 ff. Dharmasokaraja may perhaps be the same as
Mahadharmaraja who reigned 1388-1415. But the word may also be a mere title
applied to all kings of this dynasty, so that this may be another inscription of
Sri Suryavamsa Rama.
xxxvn] SIAM 85
changed but divergent views have been held as to the date1
and character of this event. It would appear that in 1350 a
Siamese subsequently known as King Ramadhipati, a descen
dant of an ancient line of Thai princes, founded Ayuthia as a
rival to Sukhothai. The site was not new, for it had long been
known as Dvaravati and seems to be mentioned under that
name by I-Ching (c. 680), but a new city was apparently con
structed. The evidence of inscriptions indicates that Sukhothai
was not immediately subdued by the new kingdom and did not
cease to be a royal residence for some time. But still Ayuthia
gradually became predominant and in the fifteenth century
merited the title of capital of Siam.
Its rise did not affect the esteem in which Buddhism was
held, and it must have contained many great religious monu
ments. The jungles which now cover the site of the city sur
round the remnants of the Wat Somarokot, in which is a gigantic
bronze Buddha facing with scornful calm the ruin which
threatens him. The Wat Chern, which lies at some distance,
contains another gigantic image. A curious inscription2 en
graved on an image of Siva found at Sukhothai and dated
1510 A.D. asserts the identity of Buddhism and Brahmanism,
but the popular feeling was in favour of the former. At Ayuthia
the temples appear to be exclusively Buddhist and at Lophburi
ancient buildings originally constructed for the Brahmanic cult
have been adapted to Buddhist uses. It was in 1602 that the
mark known as the footprint of Buddha was discovered at the
place now called Phra-bat.
Ayuthia was captured by the Burmese in 1568 and the king
was carried into captivity but the disaster was not permanent,
for at the end of the century the power of the Siamese reached its
highest point and their foreign relations were extensive. We hear
that five hundred Japanese assisted them to repulse a Burmese
attack and that there was a large Japanese colony in Ayuthia.
On the other hand when Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592, the
Siamese offered to assist the Chinese. Europeans appeared first
in 1511 when the Portuguese took Malacca. But on the whole
1 1350 is the accepted date but M. Aymonier, J.A. 1903, pp. 185 ff. argues in
favour of about 1460. See Fournereau, Ancien Siam, p. 242, inscription of 1426 A.D.
and p. 186, inscription of 1510 described as Groupe de Sajjanalaya et Sukhodaya.
3 Fournereau, vol. i. pp. 186 ff.
86 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
the dealings of Siam with Europe were peaceful and both
traders and missionaries were welcomed. The most singular
episode in this international intercourse was the career of the
Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulcon who in the reign of
King Narai was practically Foreign Minister. In concert with
the French missionaries he arranged an exchange of embassies
(1682 and 1685) between Narai and Louis XIV, the latter
having been led to suppose that the king and people of Siam
were ready to embrace Christianity. But when the French
envoys broached the subject of conversion, the king replied
that he saw no reason to change the religion which his country
men had professed for two thousand years, a chronological
statement which it might be hard to substantiate. Still, great
facilities were given to missionaries and further negotiations
ensued, in the course of which the French received almost a
monopoly of foreign trade and the right to maintain garrisons.
But the death of Narai was followed by a reaction. Phaulcon
died in prison and the French garrisons were expelled. Bud
dhism probably nourished at this period for the Mahavamsa
tells us that the king of Ceylon sent to Ayuthia for monks in
1750 because religion there was pure and undefiled.
Ayuthia continued to be the capital until 1767 when it was
laid in ruins by the Burmese who, though Buddhists, did not
scruple to destroy or deface the temples and statues with which
it was ornamented. But the collapse of the Siamese was only
local and temporary. A leader of Chinese origin named Phaya
Tak Sin rallied their forces, cleared the Burmese out of the
country and made Bangkok, officially described as the Capital
of the Angels, the seat of Government. But he was deposed in
1782 and one of the reasons for his fall seems to have been a
too zealous reformation of Buddhism. In the troublous times
following the collapse of Ayuthia the Church had become dis
organized and corrupt, but even those who desired improvement
would not assent to the powers which the king claimed over
monks. A new dynasty (of which the sixth monarch is now on
the throne) was founded in 1782 by Chao Phaya Chakkri. One
of his first acts was to convoke a council for the revision of the
Tipitaka and to build a special hall in which the text thus
agreed on was preserved. His successor Phra: Buddha Lot La
is considered the best poet that Siam has produced and it is
xxxvn] SI AM 87
probably the only country in the world where this distinction
has fallen to the lot of a sovereign. The poet king had two sons,
Phra : Nang : Klao, who ascended the throne after his death, and
Mongkut, who during his brother's reign remained in a monas
tery strictly observing the duties of a monk. He then became
king and during his reign (1851-1868) Siam "may be said to
have passed from the middle ages to modern times1." It is a
tribute to the excellence of Buddhist discipline that a prince
who spent twenty-six years as a monk should have emerged as
neither a bigot nor an impractical mystic but as an active,
enlightened and progressive monarch. The equality and sim
plicity of monastic life disposed him to come into direct touch
with his subjects and to adopt straightforward measures which
might not have occurred to one who had always been surrounded
by a wall of ministers. While still a monk he founded a stricter
sect which aimed at reviving the practice of the Buddha, but
at the same time he studied foreign creeds and took pleasure
in conversing with missionaries. He wrote several historical
pamphlets and an English Grammar, and was so good a mathe
matician that he could calculate the occurrence of an eclipse.
When he became king he regulated the international position
of Siam by concluding treaties of friendship and commerce with
the principal European powers, thus showing the broad and
liberal spirit in which he regarded politics, though a better
acquaintance with the ways of Europeans might have made
him refuse them extraterritorial privileges. He abolished the
custom which obliged every one to keep indoors when the king
went out and he publicly received petitions on every Uposatha
day. He legislated against slavery2, gambling, drinking spirits
and smoking opium and considerably improved the status of
women. He also published edicts ordering the laity to inform
the ecclesiastical authorities if they noticed any abuses in the
monasteries. He caused the annals of Siam to be edited and
issued numerous orders on archaeological and literary questions,
in which, though a good Pali scholar, he deprecated the affected
use of Pali words and enjoined the use of a terse and simple
Siamese style, which he certainly wrote himself. He appears to
1 0. Frankfurter, "King Mongkut," Journal of Siam Society, vol. I. 1904.
2 But it was his son who first decreed in 1868 that no Siamese could be born a
slave. Slavery for debt, though illegal, is said not to be practically extinct.
88 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
have died of scientific zeal for he caught a fatal fever on a trip
which he took to witness a total eclipse of the sun.
He was succeeded by his son Chulalongkorn1 (1868-1911), a
liberal and enlightened ruler, who had the misfortune to lose
much territory to the French on one side and the English on
the other. For religion, his chief interest is that he published
an edition of the Tipitaka. The volumes are of European style
and printed in Siamese type, whereas Cambojan characters
were previously employed for religious works.
As I have already observed, there is not much difference
between Buddhism in Burma and Siam. In mediaeval times a
mixed form of religion prevailed in both countries and Siam
was influenced by the Brahmanism and Mahayanism of Cam-
bo j a. Both seem to have derived a purer form of the faith from
Pegu, which was conquered by Anawrata in the eleventh cen
tury and was the neighbour of Sukhothai so long as that king
dom lasted. Both had relations with Ceylon and while vener
ating her as the metropolis of the faith also sent monks to her
in the days of her spiritual decadence. But even in externals
some differences are visible. The gold and vermilion of Burma
are replaced in Siam by more sober but artistic tints — olive,
dull purple and dark orange — and the change in the colour
scheme is accompanied by other changes in the buildings.
A religious establishment in Siam consists of several edifices
and is generally known as Wat2, followed by some special
designation such as Wat Chang. Bangkok is full of such estab
lishments mostly constructed on the banks of the river or canals.
The entrance is usually guarded by gigantic and grotesque
figures which are often lions, but at the Wat Pho in Bangkok
the tutelary demons are represented by curious caricatures of
Europeans wearing tall hats. The gate leads into several courts
opening out of one another and not arranged on any fixed plan.
The first is sometimes surrounded by a colonnade in which
are set a long line of the Buddha's eighty disciples. The most
1 =Culalankara.
2 The word has been derived from Vata, a grove, but may it not be the Pali
Vatthu, Sanskrit Vastu, a site or building?
xxxvn] SIAM 89
important building in a Wat is known as Bot1. It has a colon
nade of pillars outside and is surmounted by three or four
roofs, not much raised one above the other, and bearing finials
of a curious shape, said to represent a snake's head2. It is also
marked off by a circuit of eight stones, cut in the shape of Bo-
tree leaves, which constitute a sima or boundary. It is in the
Bot that ordinations and other acts of the Sangha are per
formed. Internally it is a hall: the walls are often covered with
paintings and at the end there is always a sitting figure of the
Buddha3 forming the apex of a pyramid, the lower steps of which
are decorated with smaller images and curious ornaments, such
as clocks under glass cases.
Siamese images of the Buddha generally represent him as
crowned by a long flame -like ornament called Siro rot4, probably
representing the light supposed to issue from the prominence
on his head. But the ornament sometimes becomes a veritable
crown terminating in a spire, as do those worn by the kings of
Camboja and Siam. On the left and right of the Buddha often
stand figures of Phra: Mokha: la (Moggalana) and Phra:
Saribut (Sariputta). It is stated that the Siamese pray to them
as saints and that the former is invoked to heal broken limbs5.
The Buddha when represented in frescoes is robed in red but
his face and hands are of gold. Besides the Bot a Wat contains
one or more wihans. The word is derived from Vihdra but has
come to mean an image -house. I'he wihans are halls not unlike
the Bots but smaller. In a large Wat there is usually one con
taining a gigantic recumbent image of the Buddha and they
sometimes shelter Indian deities such as Yama.
In most if not in all Wats there are structures known as
Phra : chedi and Phra : prang. The former are simply the ancient
cetiyas, called dagobas in Ceylon and zedis in Burma. They do
not depart materially from the shape usual in other countries
1 =Uposatha.
2 These finials are very common on the roof ends of Siamese temples and
palaces. It is strange that they also are found in conjunction with multiple roofs
in Norwegian Churches of eleventh century. See de Beylie, Architecture hindoue
dans Vextrdme Orient, pp. 47, 48.
3 The Buddha is generally known as Phra: Khodom ( =Gotama).
* In an old Siamese bronze from Kampeng Pet, figured in Grunwedel's Buddhist
Art in India, p. 179, fig. 127, the Siro rot seems to be in process of evolution.
5 P. A. Thompson, Lotus Land, 1906, p. 100.
90 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
and sometimes, for instance in the gigantic chedi at Pra Pratom,
the part below the spire is a solid bell-shaped dome. But Siam
ese taste tends to make such buildings slender and elongate and
they generally consist of stone discs of decreasing size, set one
on the other in a pile, which assumes in its upper parts the
proportions of a flagstaff rather than of a stone building. The
Phra: prangs though often larger than the Phra: chedis are
proportionally thicker and less elongate. They appear to be
derived from the Brahmanic temple towers of Camboja which
consist of a shrine crowned by a dome. But in Siam the shrine
is often at some height above the ground and is reduced to
small dimensions, sometimes becoming a mere niche. In large
Phra: prangs it is approached by a flight of steps outside and
above it rises the tower, terminating in a metal spire. But
whereas in the Phra: chedis these spires are simple, in the Phra:
prangs they bear three crescents representing the trident of
Siva and appear like barbed arrows. A large Wat is sure to
contain a number of these structures and may also comprise
halls for preaching, a pavilion covering a model of Buddha's
foot print, tanks for ablution and a bell tower. It is said that
only royal Wats contain libraries and buildings called chatta
mukh, which shelter a four-faced image of Brahma1.
The monks are often housed in single chambers arranged
round the courts of a Wat but sometimes in larger buildings
outside it. The number of monks and novices living in one
monastery is larger than in Burma, and according to the Bang
kok Directory (1907) works out at an average of about 12. In
the larger Wats this figure is considerably exceeded. Altogether
there were 50,764 monks and 10,411 novices in 19072, the pro
vince of Ayuthia being decidedly the best provided with clergy.
As in Burma, it is customary for every male to spend some
time in a monastery, usually at the age of about 20, and two
months is considered the minimum which is respectable. It is
also common to enter a monastery for a short stay on the day
when a parent is cremated. During the season of Vassa all
1 Four images facing the four quarters are considered in Burma to represent the
last four Buddhas and among the Jains some of the Tirthankaras are so represented,
the legend being that whenever they preached they seemed to face their hearers
on every side.
2 These figures only take account of twelve out of the seventeen provinces.
XXXVII]
SIAM
91
monks go out to collect alms but at other seasons only a few
make the daily round and the food collected, as in Burma and
Ceylon, is generally not eaten. But during the dry season it is
considered meritorious for monks to make a pilgrimage to
Phra Bat and while on the way to live on charity. They engage
to some extent in manual work and occupy themselves with
carpentering1. As in Burma, education is in their hands, and
they also act as doctors, though their treatment has more to do
with charms and faith cures than with medicine.
As in Burma there are two sects, the ordinary unreformed
body, and the rigorous and select communion founded by
Mongkut and called Dhammayut. It aims at a more austere
and useful life but in outward observances the only distinction
seems to be that the Dhammayuts hold the alms-bowl in front
of them in both hands, whereas the others hold it against the
left hip with the left hand only. The hierarchy is well developed
but somewhat secularized, though probably not more so than
it was in India under Asoka. In the official directory where the
departments of the Ministry of Public Instruction are enumer
ated, the Ecclesiastical Department comes immediately after
the Bacteriological, the two being clearly regarded as different
methods of expelling evil spirits. The higher clerical appoint
ments are made by the king. He names four Primates2, one of
whom is selected as chief. The Primates with nineteen superior
monks form the highest governing body of the Church. Below
them are twelve dignitaries called Gurus, who are often heads
of large Wats. There are also prelates who bear the Cambojan
title of Burien equivalent to Mahacarya. They must have passed
an examination in Pali and are chiefly consulted on matters of
ceremonial.
It will thus be seen that the differences between the churches
of Burma, Ceylon and Siam are slight; hardly more than the
local peculiarities which mark the Roman church in Italy,
Spain, and England. Different opinions have been expressed as
to the moral tone and conduct of Siamese monks and most
critics state that they are somewhat inferior to their Burmese
1 Thompson, Lotus Land, p. 120.
2 They bear the title of Somdlt Phra: Chao Rajagama and have authority
respectively over (a) ordinary Buddhists in northern Siam, (6) ordinary Buddhists
in the south, (c) hermits, (d) the Dhammayut sect.
E. in. 7
92 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
brethren. The system by which a village undertakes to support
a monk, provided that he is a reasonably competent school
master and of good character, works well. But in the larger
monasteries it is admitted that there are inmates who have
entered in the hope of leading a lazy life and even fugitives from
justice. Still the penalty for any grave offence is immediate
expulsion by the ecclesiastical authorities and the offender is
treated with extreme severity by the civil courts to which he
then becomes amenable.
The religious festivals of Siam are numerous and character
istic. Many are Buddhist, some are Brahmanic, and some are
royal. Uposatha days (wan phra:) are observed much as in
Burma. The birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha
(which are all supposed to have taken place on the 15th day of
the 6th waxing moon) are celebrated during a three days
festival. These three days are of peculiar solemnity and are
spent in the discharge of religious duties, such as hearing ser
mons and giving alms. But at most festivals religious observ
ances are mingled with much picturesque but secular gaiety.
In the morning the monks do not go their usual round1 and the
alms-bowls are arranged in a line within the temple grounds.
The laity (mostly women) arrive bearing wicker trays on which
are vessels containing rice and delicacies. They place a selection
of these in each bowl and then proceed to the Bot where they
hear the commandments recited and often vow to observe for
that day some which are usually binding only on monks. While
the monks are eating their meal the people repair to a river,
which is rarely far distant in Siam, and pour water drop by
drop saying "May the food which we have given for the use of
the holy ones be of benefit to our fathers and mothers and to
all of our relatives who have passed away." This rite is curiously
in harmony with the injunctions of the Tirokuddasuttam in the
Khuddakapatha, which is probably an ancient work2. The rest
of the day is usually devoted to pious merrymaking, such as
processions by day and illuminations by night. On some feasts
1 For this and many other details I am indebted to P. A. Thompson, Lotus
Land, p. 123.
2 When gifts of food are made to monks on ceremonial occasions, they usually
acknowledge the receipt by reciting verses 7 and 8 of this Sutta, commonly known
as Yathd from the first word.
xxxvn] 8IAM 93
the laws against gambling are suspended and various games of
chance are freely indulged in. Thus the New Year festival called
Trut (or Krut) Thai lasts three days. On the first two days,
especially the second, crowds fill the temples to offer flowers
before the statues of Buddha and more substantial presents of
food, clothes, etc., to the clergy. Well-to-do families invite
monks to their houses and pass the day in listening to their
sermons and recitations. Companies of priests are posted round
the city walls to scare away evil spirits and with the same object
guns are fired throughout the night. But the third day is devoted
to gambling by almost the whole population except the monks.
Not dissimilar is the celebration of the S6ngkran holidays, at
the beginning of the official year. The special religious observ
ance at this feast consists in bathing the images of Buddha and
in theory the same form of watery respect is extended to aged
relatives and monks. In practice its place is taken by gifts of
perfumes and other presents.
The rainy season is preceded and ended by holidays. During
this period both monks and pious laymen observe their religious
duties more strictly. Thus monks eat only once a day and then
only what is put into their bowls and laymen observe some of
the minor vows. At the end of the rains come the important
holidays known as Thot Kathin1, when robes are presented to
monks. This festival has long had a special importance in Siam.
Thus Rama Khomheng in his inscription of A.D. 12922 describes
the feast of Kathina which lasts a month. At the present day
many thousands of robes are prepared in the capital alone so as
to be ready for distribution in October and November, when
the king or some deputy of high rank visits every temple and
makes the offering in person. During this season Bangkok
witnesses a series of brilliant processions.
These festivals mentioned may be called Buddhist though
their light-hearted and splendour-loving gaiety, their processions
and gambling are far removed from the spirit of Gotama.
Others however are definitely Brahmanic and in Bangkok are
superintended by the Brahmans attached to the Court. Since
the time of Mongkut Buddhist priests are also present as a sign
that the rites, if not ordered by Buddhism, at least have its
1 Kathina in Pali. See Mahavag. cap. vn.
2 Fournereau, p. 225.
94 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
countenance. Such is the Re'k Na1, or ploughing festival. The
king is represented by the Minister of Agriculture who formerly
had the right to exact from all shops found open such taxes as
he might claim for his temporary sovereignty. At present he
is escorted in procession to Dusit2,a royal park outside Bangkok,
where he breaks ground with a plough drawn by two white
oxen.
Somewhat similar is the Thib-Chmg-Cha, or Swinging
holidays, a two days' festival which seems to be a harvest
thanksgiving. Under the supervision of a high official, four
Brahmans wearing tall conical hats swing on a board suspended
from a huge frame about 100 ft high. Their object is to catch
with their teeth a bag of money hanging at a little distance
from the swing. When three or four sets of swingers have ob
tained a prize in this way, they conclude the ceremony by
sprinkling the ground with holy water contained in bullock
horns. Swinging is one of the earliest Indian rites3 and as part
of the worship of Krishna it has lasted to the present day. Yet
another Brahmanic festival is the Loi Kathong4, when miniature
rafts and ships bearing lights and offerings are sent down the
Menam to the sea.
Another class of ceremonies may be described as royal, inas
much as they are religious only in so far as they invoke religion
to protect royalty. Such are the anniversaries of the birth and
coronation of the king and the Thii Nam or drinking of the water
of allegiance which takes place twice a year. At Bangkok all
officials assemble at the Palace and there drink and sprinkle on
their heads water in which swords and other weapons have been
dipped thus invoking vengeance on themselves should they
prove disloyal. Jars of this water are despatched to Governors
who superintend the performance of the same ceremony in the
1 The ploughing festival is a recognized imperial ceremony in China. In India
ceremonies for private landowners are prescribed in the Grihya Sutras but I do not
know if their performance by kings is anywhere definitely ordered. However in
the Nidana Katha 270 the Buddha's father celebrates an imposing ploughing
ceremony.
2 I.e. Tusita. Compare such English names descriptive of beautiful scenery as
Heaven's Gate.
3 See Keith, Alter ey a Aranyaka, pp. 174-178. The ceremony there described
undoubtedly originated in a very ancient popular festival.
* I.e. float-raft. Most authors give the word as Krathong, but Pallegoix prefers
Kathong.
XXXVTl]
SIAM
95
provincial capitals. It is only after the water has been drunk
that officials receive their half yearly salary. Monks are excused
from drinking it but the chief ecclesiastics of Bangkok meet
in the Palace temple and perform a service in honour of the
occasion.
Besides these public solemnities there are a number of
domestic festivals derived from the twelve Samskaras of the
Hindus. Of these only three or four are kept up by the nations
of Indo-China, namely the shaving of the first hair of a child a
month after birth, the giving of a name, and the piercing of the
ears for earrings. This last is observed in Burma and Laos, but
not in Siam and Camboja where is substituted for it the Kon
Chuk or shaving of the topknot, which is allowed to grow until
the eleventh or thirteenth year. This ceremony, which is per
formed on boys and girls alike, is the most important event in
the life of a young Siamese and is celebrated by well-to-do
parents with lavish expenditure. Those who are indigent often
avail themselves of the royal bounty, for each year a public
ceremony is performed in one of the temples of Bangkok at
which poor children receive the tonsure gratis. An elaborate
description of the tonsure rites has been published by Gerini1.
They are of considerable interest as showing how closely
Buddhist and Brahmanic rites are intertwined in Siamese
family life.
Marriages are celebrated with a feast to which monks are
invited but are not regarded as religious ceremonies. The dead
are usually disposed of by cremation, but are often kept some
time, being either embalmed or simply buried and exhumed
subsequently. Before cremation the coffin is usually placed
within the grounds of a temple. The monks read Suttas over it
and it is said2 that they hold ribbons which enter into the
coffin and are supposed to communicate to the corpse the merit
acquired by the recitations and prayers.
In the preceding pages mention has often been made not
only of Brahmanic rites but of Brahman priests3. These are
1 Chulakantamangalam, Bangkok, 1893.
2 P. A. Thompson, Lotus Land, p. 134.
3 For the Brahinans of Siam see Frankfurter, Oriental. Archiv. 1913, pp. 196-7.
96 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
still to be found in Bangkok attached to the Court and possibly
in other cities. They dress in white and have preserved many
Hindu usages but are said to be poor Sanskrit scholars. Indeed
Gerini1 seems to say that they use Pali in some of their recita
tions. Their principal duty is to officiate at Court functions, but
wealthy families invite them to take part in domestic rites, and
also to cast horoscopes and fix lucky days. It is clear that the
presence of these Brahmans is no innovation. Brahmanism
must have been strong in Siam when it was a province of Cam-
boja, but in both countries gave way before Buddhism. Many
rites, however, connected with securing luck or predicting the
future were too firmly established to be abolished, and, as
Buddhist monks were unwilling to perform them2 or not
thought very competent, the Brahmans remained and were
perhaps reinforced from time to time by new importations, for
there are still Brahman colonies in Ligor and other Malay
towns. Siamese lawbooks, like those of Burma, seem to be
mainly adaptations of Indian Dharmasastras.
On a cursory inspection, Siamese Buddhism, especially as
seen in villages, seems remarkably free from alien additions.
But an examination of ancient buildings, of royal temples in
Bangkok and royal ceremonial, suggests on the contrary that
it is a mixed faith in which the Brahmanic element is strong.
Yet though this element appeals to the superstition of the
Siamese and their love of pageantry, I think that as in Burma
it has not invaded the sphere of religion and ethics more than
the Pitakas themselves allow. In art and literature its influence
has been considerable. The story of the Ramayana is illustrated
on the cloister walls of the royal temple at Bangkok and
Indian mythology has supplied a multitude of types to the
painter and sculptor; such as Yomma: rat (Yama), Phaya Man
(Mara), Phra: In (Indra). These are all deities known to the
Pitakas but the sculptures or images3 in Siamese temples also
1 Chulakantamangala, p. 56.
2 They are mostly observances such as Gotama would have classed among "low
arts" (tiracchanavijja). At present the monks of Siam deal freely in charms and
exorcisms but on important occasions public opinion seems to have greater con
fidence in the skill and power of Brahmans.
3 King 6ri Suryavamsa Rama relates in an inscription of about 1365 how he
set up statues of Paramesvara and Vishnukarma (?) and appointed Brahmans to
serve them.
xxxvii] SIAM 97
include Ganesa, Phra: Narai (Narayana or Vishnu) riding on
the Garuda and Phra: Isuen (Siva) riding on a bull. There is a
legend that the Buddha and Siva tried which could make him
self invisible to the other. At last the Buddha sat on Siva's
head and the god being unable to see him acknowledged his
defeat. This story is told to explain a small figure which Siva
bears on his head and recalls the legend found in the Pitakas1
that the Buddha made himself invisible to Brahma but that
Brahma had not the corresponding power. Lingas are still
venerated in a few temples, for instance at Wat Pho in Bangkok,
but it would appear that the majority (e.g. those found at Pra
Pratom and Lophburi) are survivals of ancient Brahmanic
worship and have a purely antiquarian importance. The Brah
manic cosmology which makes Mt Meru the centre of this
Universe is generally accepted in ecclesiastical treatises and
paintings, though the educated Siamese may smile at it, and
when the topknot of a Siamese prince is cut off, part of the
ceremony consists in his being received by the king dressed as
Siva on the summit of a mound cut in the traditional shape of
Mt Kailasa.
Like the Nats of Burma, Siam has a spirit population known
as Phis2. The name is occasionally applied to Indian deities,
but the great majority of Phis fall into two classes, namely,
ghosts of the dead and nature spirits which, though dangerous,
do not rise above the position of good or bad fairies. In the
first class are included the Phi Pret, who have the character
istics as well as the name of the Indian Pretas, and also a
multitude of beings who like European ghosts, haunt houses
and behave in a mysterious but generally disagreeable manner.
The Phi am is apparently our nightmare. The ghosts of children
dying soon after birth are apt to kill their mothers and in
general women are liable to be possessed by Phis. The ghosts
of those who have died a violent death are dangerous but it
would seem that Siamese magicians know how to utilize them
as familiar spirits. The better sort of ghosts are known as Chao
Phi and shrines called San Chao are set up in their honour. It
does not however appear that there is any hierarchy of Phis
like the thirty-seven Nats of Burma.
1 Maj. Nik. 47.
2 Siam Society, vol. iv. part ii. 1907. Some Siamese ghost-lore by A. J. Irwin.
98 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Among those Phis who are not ghosts of the dead the most
important is the Phi ruen or guardian spirit of each house.
Frequently a little shrine is erected for him at the top of a pole.
There are also innumerable Phis in the jungle mostly malevolent
and capable of appearing either in human form or as a dangerous
animal. But the tree spirits are generally benevolent and when
their trees are cut down they protect the houses that are made
of them.
Thus the Buddhism of Siam, like that of Burma, has a
certain admixture of Brahmanism and animism. The Brah-
manism is perhaps more striking than in Burma on account of
the Court ceremonies: the belief in spirits, though almost
universal, seems to be more retiring and less conspicuous. Yet
the inscription of Rama Komheng mentioned above asserts
emphatically that the prosperity of the Empire depends on due
honour being shown to a certain mountain spirit1.
It is pretty clear that the first introduction of Hinayanist
Buddhism into Siam was from Southern Burma and Pegu, but
that somewhat later Ceylon was accepted as the standard of
orthodoxy. A learned thera who knew the Sinhalese Tipitaka
was imported thence, as well as a branch of the Bo-tree. But
Siamese patriotism flattered itself by imagining that the national
religion was due to personal contact with the Buddha, although
not even early legends can be cited in support of such traditions.
In 1602 a mark in the rocks, now known as the Phra: Bat, was
discovered in the hills north of Ayuthia and identified as a
footprint of the Buddha similar to that found on Adam's Peak
and in other places. Burma and Ceylon both claim the honour
of a visit from the Buddha but the Siamese go further, for it is
popularly believed that he died at Praten, a little to the north
of Phra Pat horn, on a spot marked by a slab of rock under great
trees2. For this reason when the Government of India presented
1 Jour. Siam Soc, 1909, p. 28. "In yonder mountain is a demon spirit Phra
Khaphung that is greater than every other spirit in this realm. If any Prince
ruling this realm reverences him well with proper offerings, this realm stands firm,
this realm prospers. If the spirit be not reverenced well, if the offerings be not
right, the spirit in the mountain does not protect, does not regard: — this realm
perishes."
2 The most popular life of the Buddha in Siamese is called Pa:thomma Som-
phothiyan, translated by Alabaster in The Wheel of the Law. But like the Lalita
vistara and other Indian lives on which it is modelled it stops short at the enlighten-
xxxvii] SIAM 99
the king of Siam with the relics found in the Piprava vase, the
gift though received with honour, aroused little enthusiasm
and was placed in a somewhat secluded shrine1.
ment. Another well-known religious book is the Traiphum (=Tribhumi), an
account of the universe according to Hindu principles, compiled in 1776 from various
ancient works.
The Pali literature of Siam is not very large. Some account of it is given by
Coedes in B.E.F.E.O. 1915, m. pp. 39-46.
1 When in Bangkok in 1907 I saw in a photographer's shop a photograph of
the procession which escorted these relics to their destination. It was inscribed
"Arrival of Buddha's tooth from Kandy." This shows how deceptive historical
evidence may be. The inscription was the testimony of an eye -witness and yet it
was entirely wrong.
CHAPTER XXXVIII
CAMBOJA1
THE French Protectorate of Camboja corresponds roughly to
the nucleus, though by no means to the whole extent of the
former Empire of the Khmers. The affinities of this race have
given rise to considerable discussion and it has been proposed
to connect them with the Munda tribes of India on one side
and with the Malays and Polynesians on the other2. They are
allied linguistically to the Mons or Talaings of Lower Burma
and to the Khasias of Assam, but it is not proved that they are
similarly related to the Annamites, and recent investigators are
not disposed to maintain the Mon-Annam family of languages
1 See among other authorities :
(a) E. Aymonier, Le Cambodge, Paris, 3 vols. 1900, 1904 (cited as Aymonier).
(6) A. Barth, Inscriptions Sanscrites du Cambodge (Notices et extraits des MSS.
de la Bibliot. Nat.), Paris, 1885 (cited as Corpus, i.).
(c) A. Bergaigne, Inscriptions Sanscrites de Campd et du Cambodge (in same
series), 1893 (cited as Corpus, 11.).
(d) L. Finot, " Buddhism in Indo-China," Buddhist Review, Oct. 1 909.
(e) G. Maspero, L' Empire Khmer, Phnom Penh, 1904 (cited as Maspero).
(/)P. Pelliot, "Memoires sur les Coutumes de Cambodge par Tcheou Ta-
kouan, traduits et annotes," B.E.F.E.O. 1902, pp. 123-177 (cited as
Pelliot, Tcheou Ta-kouan).
(g) Id. "Le Founan," B.E.F.E.O. 1903, pp. 248-303 (cited as Pelliot, Founan).
(h) Articles on various inscriptions by G. Coedes in J.A. 1908, xi. p. 203, xn.
p. 213; 1909, xm. p. 467 and p. 511.
(i) Bulletin de la Commission Archeologique de VIndochine, 1908 onwards.
(j) Le Bayon d' Angkor Thorn, Mission Henri Dufour, 1910-1914.
Besides the articles cited above the Bulletin de Vtfcole Francaise d'Ex-
treme Orient (quoted as B.E.F.E.O.) contains many others dealing
with the religion and archaeology of Camboja.
(k) L. Finot, Notes d'fipigraphie Indo-Chinoise, 1916.
See for literature up to 1909, G. Coedes, Bibliotheque raisonnee des
travaux relatifs d V Archeologie du Cambodge et du Champa. Paris,
Imprimerie Nationale, 1909.
2 See especially P. W. Schmitt, Die Mon-Khmer Volker. Ein Bindeglied
zwischen Volkern Zentral-Asiens und Austronesiens. Braunschweig, 1906.
CH. xxxvm] CAMBOJA 101
proposed by Logan and others. But the undoubted similarity
of the Mon and Khmer languages suggests that the ancestors of
those who now speak them were at one time spread over the
central and western parts of Indo-China but were subsequently
divided and deprived of much territory by the southward
invasions of the Thais in the middle ages.
The Khmers also called themselves Kambuja or Kamvuja
and their name for the country is still either Srok Kampuchea
or Srok Khmer1. Attempts have been made to find a Malay
origin for this name Kambuja but native tradition regards it
as a link with India and affirms that the race is descended from
Kambu Svayambhuva and Mera or Pera who was given to him
by Siva as wife2. This legend hardly proves that the Khmer
people came from India but they undoubtedly received thence
their civilization, their royal family and a considerable number
of Hindu immigrants, so that the mythical ancestor of their
kings naturally came to be regarded as the progenitor of the
race. The Chinese traveller Chou Ta-kuan (1296 A.D.) says that
the country known to the Chinese as Chen-la is called by the
natives Kan-po-chih but that the present dynasty call it Kan-
p'u-chih on the authority of Sanskrit (Hsi-fan) works. The
origin of the name Chen-la is unknown.
There has been much discussion respecting the relation of
Chen-la to the older kingdom of Fu-nan which is the name given
by Chinese historians until the early part of the seventh century
to a state occupying the south-eastern and perhaps central
portions of Indo-China. It has been argued that Chen-la is
simply the older name of Fu-nan and on the other hand that
Fu-nan is a wider designation including several states, one of
which, Chen-la or Camboja, became paramount at the expense
of the others3. But the point seems unimportant for their
1 Cambodge is the accepted French spelling of this country's name. In English
Kamboja, Kambodia, Camboja and Cambodia are all found. The last is the most
usual but di is not a good way of representing the sound of j as usually heard in
this name. I have therefore preferred Camboja.
2 See the inscription of Bakse, Camkron, J.A. xm. 1909, pp. 468, 469, 497.
3 The Sui annals (Pelliot, Founan, p. 272) state that "Chen-la lies to the west
of Lin-yi : it was originally a vassal state of Fu-nan The name of the king's
family was Kshatriya: his personal name was Citrasena: his ancestors progressively
acquired the sovereignty of the country: Citrasena seized Fu-nan and reduced it
to submission." This seems perfectly clear and we know from Cambojan inscrip
tions that Citrasena was the personal name of the king who reigned as
102 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
religious history with which we have to deal. In religion and
general civilization both were subject to Indian influence and
it is not recorded that the political circumstances which turned
Fu-nan into Chen-la were attended by any religious revolution.
The most important fact in the history of these countries,
as in Champa and Java, is the presence from early times of
Indian influence as a result of commerce, colonization, or con
quest. Orientalists have only recently freed themselves from
the idea that the ancient Hindus, and especially their religion,
were restricted to the limits of India. In mediaeval times this
was true. Emigration was rare and it wras only in the nineteenth
century that the travelling Hindu became a familiar and in
some British colonies not very welcome visitor. Even now
Hindus of the higher caste evade rather than deny the rule
which forbids them to cross the ocean1. But for a long while
Hindus have frequented the coast of East Africa2 and in earlier
Mahendravarm.in, c. 600 A.D. But it would appear from the inscriptions that it
was his predecessor Bhavavarraan who made whatever change occurred in the
relations of Camboja to Fu-nan and in any case it is not clear who were the inhabi
tants of Fu-nan if not Cambojans. Perhaps Maspero is right in suggesting that
Fu-nan was something like imperial Germany (p. 25), "Si le roi de Baviere s'emparait
de la couronne imperiale, rien ne serait change en Allemagne que la famille regnante."
1 It is remarkable that the Baudhayana-dharma-sutra enumerates going to sea
among the customs peculiar to the North (i. 1, 2, 4) and thei. (n. 1, 2, 2) classes
making voyages by sea as the first of the offences which cause loss of caste. This
seems to indicate that the emigrants from India came mainly from the North, but
it would be rash to conclude that in times of stress or enthusiasm the Southerners
did not follow their practice. A passage in the second chapter of the Kautiliya
Arthasastra has been interpreted as referring to the despatch of colonists to foreign
countries, but it probably contemplates nothing more than the transfer of popula
tion from one part of India to another. See Finot, B.E.F.E.O. 1912, No. 8. But
the passage at any rate shows that the idea of the King being able to transport a
considerable mass of population was familiar in ancient India. Jataka 466 con
tains a curious story of a village of carpenters who being unsuccessful in trade
built a ship and emigrated to an island in the ocean. It is clear that there must
have been a considerable seafaring population in India in early times for the Rig
Veda (ii. 48, 3; I. 56, 2; I. 116, 3), the Mahabharata and the Jatakas allude to the
love of gain which sends merchants across the sea and to shipwrecks. Sculptures
at Salsette ascribed to about 150 A.D. represent a shipwreck. Ships were depicted
in the paintings of Ajanta and also occur on the coins of the Andhra King Yajuasri
(c. 200 A.D.) and in the sculptures of Boroboedoer. The Digha Nikaya (xi. 85)
speaks of sea-going ships which when lost let loose a land sighting bird. Much
information is collected in Radhakumud Mookerji's History of Indian Shipping,
1912.
a Voyages are still regularly made in dhows between the west coast of India and
Zanzibar or Mombasa and the trade appears to be old.
xxxvm] CAMBOJA 103
centuries their traders, soldiers and missionaries covered con
siderable distances by sea. The Jatakas * mention voyages to
Babylon: Vijaya and Mahinda reached Ceylon in the fifth and
third centuries B.C. respectively. There is no certain evidence
as to the epoch when Hindus first penetrated beyond the Malay
peninsula, but Java is mentioned in the Ramayana2 : the earliest
Sanskrit inscriptions of Champa date from our third or perhaps
second century, and the Chinese Annals of the Tsin indicate
that at a period considerably anterior to that dynasty there
were Hindus in Fu-nan3. It is therefore safe to conclude that
they must have reached ,these regions about the beginning of
the Christian era and, should any evidence be forthcoming,
there is no reason why this date should not be put further back.
At present we can only say that the establishment of Hindu
kingdoms probably implies earlier visits of Hindu traders and
that voyages to the south coast of Indo-China and the Archi
pelago were probably preceded by settlements on the Isthmus
of Kra, for instance at Ligor.
The motives which prompted this eastward movement have
been variously connected with religious persecution in India,
missionary enterprise, commerce and political adventure. The
first is the least probable. There is little evidence for the sys
tematic persecution of Buddhists in India and still less for the
persecution of Brahmans by Buddhists. Nor can these Indian
settlements be regarded as primarily religious missions. The
Brahmans have always been willing to follow and supervise the
progress of Hindu civilization, but they have never shown any
disposition to evangelize foreign countries apart from Hindu
settlements in them. The Buddhists had this evangelistic temper
and the journeys of their missionaries doubtless stimulated
other classes to go abroad, but still no inscriptions or annals
suggest that the Hindu migrations to Java and Camboja were
parallel to Mahinda' s mission to Ceylon. Nor is there any
reason to think that they were commanded or encouraged by
1 See Jataka 339 for the voyage to Baveru or Babylon. Jatakas 360 and 442
mention voyages to Suvannabhumi or Lower Burma from Bharukaccha and from
Benares down the river. The Milinda Panha (vi. 21) alludes to traffic with China
by sea.
2 Ram. iv. 40, 30.
3 Pelliot, Founan, p. 254. The Western and Eastern Tsin reigned from 265 to
419 A.D.
104 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Indian Rajas, for no mention of their despatch has been found
in India, and no Indian state is recorded to have claimed
suzerainty over these colonies. It therefore seems likely that
they were founded by traders and also by adventurers who
followed existing trade routes and had their own reasons for
leaving India. In a country where dynastic quarrels were fre
quent and the younger sons of Rajas had a precarious tenure of
life, such reasons can be easily imagined. In Camboja we find
an Indian dynasty established after a short struggle, but in
other countries, such as Java and Sumatra, Indian civilization
endured because it was freely adopted by native chiefs and not
because it was forced on them as a result of conquest.
The inscriptions discovered in Camboja and deciphered by
the labours of French savants offer with one lacuna (about
650-800 A.D.) a fairly continuous history of the country from
the sixth to the thirteenth centuries. For earlier periods we
depend almost entirely on Chinese accounts which are frag
mentary and not interested in anything but the occasional rela
tions of China with Fu-nan. The annals of the Tsin dynasty1
already cited say that from 265 A.D. onwards the kings of Fu-nan
sent several embassies to the Chinese Court, adding that the
people have books and that their writing resembles that of the
Hu. The Hu are properly speaking a tribe of Central Asia, but
the expression doubtless means no more than alphabetic writing
as opposed to Chinese characters and such an alphabet can
hardly have had other than an Indian origin. Originally, adds
the Annalist, the sovereign was a woman, but there came a
stranger called Hun-Hui who worshipped the Devas and had
had a dream in which one of them gave him a bow2 and ordered
him to sail for Fu-nan. He conquered the country and married
the Queen but his descendants deteriorated and one Fan-Hsiin
founded another dynasty. The annals of the Ch'i dynasty
(479-501) give substantially the same story but say that the
stranger was called Hun-T'ien (which is probably the correct
form of the name) and that he came from Chi or Chiao, an
unknown locality. The same annals state that towards the end
1 Pelliot, Founan, p. 254. Most of the references to Chinese annals are taken
from this valuable paper.
2 The inscription of Mi-son relates how Kaundinya planted at Bharapura ( ? in
Camboja) a javelin given to him by Asvatthaman.
xxxvm] CAMBOJA 105
of the fifth century the king of Fu-nan who bore the family
name of Ch'iao-ch'en-ju1 or Kaundinya and the personal name
of She-yeh-po-mo (Jayavarman) traded with Canton. A Bud
dhist monk named Nagasena returned thence with some Cam-
bo j an merchants and so impressed this king with his account of
China that he was sent back in 484 to beg for the protection of
the Emperor. The king's petition and a supplementary paper
by Nagasena are preserved in the annals. They seem to be an
attempt to represent the country as Buddhist, while explaining
that Mahesvara is its tutelary deity.
The Liang annals also state that during the Wu dynasty
(222-280) Fan Chan, then king of Fu-nan, sent a relative
named Su-Wu on an embassy to India, to a king called Mao-lun,
which probably represents Murunda, a people of the Ganges
valley mentioned by the Puranas and by Ptolemy. This king
despatched a return embassy to Fu-nan and his ambassadors
met there an official sent by the Emperor of China2. The early
date ascribed to these events is noticeable.
The Liang annals contain also the following statements.
Between the years 357 and 424 A.D. named as the dates of
embassies sent to China, an Indian Brahman called Ch'iao-
ch'en-ju (Kaundinya) heard a supernatural voice bidding him
go and reign in Fu-nan. He met with a good reception and was
elected king. He changed the customs of the country and made
them conform to those of India. One of his successors, Jayavar
man, sent a coral image of Buddha in 503 to the Emperor
Wu-ti (502-550). The inhabitants of Fu-nan are said to make
bronze images of the heavenly genii with two or four heads
and four or eight arms. Jayavarman was succeeded by a
usurper named Liu-t'o-pa-mo (Rudravarman) who sent an
image made of sandal wood to the Emperor in 519 and in 539
offered him a hair of the Buddha twelve feet long. The Sui
annals (589-618) state that Citrasena, king of Chen-la, con
quered Fu-nan and was succeeded by his son Isanasena.
Two monks of Fu-nan are mentioned among the translators
of the Chinese scriptures3, namely, Sarighapala and Mandra.
1 This is the modern reading of the characters in Peking, but Julien's Methode
justifies the transcription Kau-di-nya.
2 See S. Levi in Melanges Charles de Harlez, p. 176. Deux peuples meconnus.
i. Les Murundas. 3 Nanjio Catalogue) p. 422.
106 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
Both arrived in China during the first years of the sixth century
and their works are extant. The pilgrim I-Ching who returned
from India in 695 says1 that to the S.W. of Champa lies the
country Po-nan, formerly called Fu-nan, which is the southern
corner of Jambudvipa. He says that "of old it was a country
the inhabitants of which lived naked; the people were mostly
worshippers of devas and later on Buddhism flourished there,
but a wicked king has now expelled and exterminated them all
and there are no members of the Buddhist brotherhood at all."
These data from Chinese authorities are on the whole con
firmed by the Cambojan inscriptions. Rudravarman is men
tioned2 and the kings claim to belong to the race of Kaundinya3.
This is the name of a Brahman gotra, but such designations
were often borne by Kshatriyas and the conqueror of Camboja
probably belonged to that caste. It may be affirmed with some
certainty that he started from south-eastern India and possibly
he sailed from Mahabalipur (also called the Seven Pagodas).
Masulipatam was also a port of embarcation for the East and was
connected with Broach by a trade route running through Tagara,
now Ter in the Nizam's dominions. By using this road, it was
possible to avoid the west coast, which was infested by pirates.
The earliest Cambojan inscriptions date from the beginning
of the seventh century and are written in an alphabet closely
resembling that of the inscriptions in the temple of Papanatha
at Pattadkal in the Bijapur district4. They are composed in
1 I-Tsing, trans. Takakusu, p. 12. 2 Corpus, I. p. 65.
3 Carpus, i. pp. 84, 89, 90, and Jour. Asiatique, 1882, p. 152.
4 When visiting Badami, Pattadkal and Aihole in 1912 I noted the folio wing
resemblances between the temples of that district and those of Camboja. (a) The
chief figures are Harihara, Vamana and Nrisimha. At Pattadkal, as at Angkor
Wat, the reliefs on the temple wall represent the Churning of the Sea and scenes
from the Ramayana. (b) Large blocks of stone were used for building and after
being put in their positions were carved in situ, as is shown by unfinished work in
places, (c) Medallions containing faces are frequent, (d) The architectural scheme
is not as in Dravidian temples, that is to say larger outside and becoming smaller
as one proceeds towards the interior. There is generally a central tower attached
to a hall, (e) The temples are often raised on a basement. (/) Mukhalingas and
koshas are still used in worship, (g) There are verandahs resembling those at
Angkor Wat. They have sloping stone roofs, sculptures in relief on the inside wall
and a series of windows in the outside wall, (h) The doors of the Linga shrines have
a serpentine ornamentation and are very like those of the Bayon. (i) A native
gentleman told me that he had seen temples with five towers in this neighbourhood,
but I have not seen them myself.
xxxvm] CAMBOJA 107
Sanskrit verse of a somewhat exuberant style, which revels in
the commonplaces of Indian poetry. The deities most frequently
mentioned are Siva by himself and Siva united with Vishnu in
the form Hari-Hara. The names of the kings end in Varman
and this termination is also specially frequent in names of the
Pallava dynasty1. The magnificent monuments still extant
attest a taste for architecture on a large scale similar to that
found among the Dravidians. These and many other indications
justify the conclusion that the Indian civilization and religion
which became predominant in Camboja were imported from the
Deccan.
The Chinese accounts distinctly mention two invasions, one
under Ch'iao-ch'en-ju (Kaundinya) about 400 A.D. and one con
siderably anterior to 265 under Hun-T'ien. It might be supposed
that this name also represents Kaundinya and that there is a
confusion of dates. But the available evidence is certainly in
favour of the establishment of Hindu civilization in Fu-nan
long before 400 A.D. and there is nothing improbable in the
story of the two invasions and even of two Kaundinyas.
Maspero suggests that the first invasion came from Java and
formed part of the same movement which founded the kingdom
of Champa. It is remarkable that an inscription in Sanskrit
found on the east coast of Borneo and apparently dating from
the fifth century mentions Kundagga as the grandfather of the
reigning king, and the Liang annals say that the king of Poli
(probably in Borneo but according to some in Sumatra) was
called Ch'iao-ch'en-ju. It seems likely that the Indian family of
Kaundinya was established somewhere in the South Seas (per
haps in Java) at an early period and thence invaded various
countries at various times. But Fu-nan is a vague geographical
term and it may be that Hun-T'ien founded a Hindu dynasty
in Champa.
1 E.g. Mahendravarman, Narasinhavarman, Paramesvaravarman, etc. It may
be noticed that Pattadkal is considerably to the N.W. of Madras and that the
Pallavas are supposed to have come from the northern part of the present Madras
Presidency. Though the Hindus who emigrated to Camboja probably embarked in
the neighbourhood of Madras, they may have come from countries much further
to the north. Yarman is recognized as a proper termination of Kshatriya names,
but it is remarkable that it is found in all the Sanskrit names of Cambojan kings
and is very common in Pallava names. The name of Asvatthaman figures in the
mythical genealogies of both the Pallavas and the kings of Champa or perhaps of
Camboja, see B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 923.
E. in. 8
108 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
It is clear that during the period of the inscriptions the
religion of Camboja was a mixture of Brahmanism and Bud
dhism, the only change noticeable being the preponderance of
one or other element in different centuries. But it would be
interesting to know the value of I-Ching's statement that
Buddhism flourished in Fu-naii in early times and was then
subverted by a wicked king, by whom Bhavavarman1 may be
meant. Primd facie the statement is not improbable, for there
is no reason why the first immigrants should not have been
Buddhists, but the traditions connecting these countries with
early Hinayanist missionaries are vague. Taranatha2 states
that the disciples of Vasubandhu introduced Buddhism into the
country of Koki (Indo-China) but his authority does not count
for much in such a matter. The statement of I-Ching however
has considerable weight, especially as the earliest inscription
found in Champa (that of Vocan) appears to be inspired by
Buddhism.
It may be well to state briefly the chief facts of Cambojan
history3 before considering the phases through which religion
passed. Until the thirteenth century our chief authorities are
the Sanskrit and Khmer inscriptions, supplemented by notices
in the Chinese annals.. The Khmer inscriptions are often only
a translation or paraphrase of Sanskrit texts found in the same
locality and, as a rule, are more popular, having little literary
pretension. They frequently contain lists of donations or of
articles to be supplied by the population for the upkeep of
pious foundations. After the fourteenth century we have Cam
bojan annals of dubious value and we also find inscriptions in
Pali or in modern Cambojan. The earliest Sanskrit inscriptions
date from the beginning of the seventh century and mention
works undertaken in 604 and 624.
The first important king is Bhavavarman (c. 500 A.D.), a
1 Some authorities think that Kaundinya is meant by the wicked king, but he
lived about 300 years before I-Ching's visit and the language seems to refer to more
recent events. Although Bhavavarman is not known to have been a religious
innovator he appears to have established a new order of things in Camboja and his
inscriptions show that he was a zealous worshipper of Siva and other Indian deities.
It would be even more natural if I-Ching referred to Isanavarman (c. 615) or Jaya-
varman I (c. 650), but there is no proof that these kings were anti-buddhist.
2 Schiefner, p. 262. 3 See Maspero, U Empire Khmer, pp. 24 ff.
xxxvm] CAMBOJA 109
conqueror and probably a usurper, who extended his kingdom
considerably towards the west. His career of conquest was con
tinued by Mahavarman (also called Citrasena), by Isanavarman
and by Jayavarman1. This last prince was on the throne in
667, but his reign is followed by a lacuna of more than a century.
Notices in the Chinese annals, confirmed by the double gene
alogies given for this period in later inscriptions, indicate that
Camboja was divided for some time into two states, one littoral
and the other inland.
Clear history begins again with the reign of Jayavarman II
(802-869). Later sovereigns evidently regard him as the great
national hero and he lives in popular legend as the builder of a
magnificent palace, Beng Mealea, whose ruins still exist2 and as
the recipient of the sacred sword of Indra which is preserved at
Phnom-penh to this day. We are told that he "came from
Java," which is more likely to be some locality in the Malay
Peninsula or Laos than the island of that name. It is possible
that Jayavarman was carried away captive to this region but
returned to found a dynasty independent of it3.
The ancient city of Angkor has probably done more to make
Camboja known in Europe than any recent achievements of
the Khmer race. In the centre of it stands the temple now called
Bayon and outside its walls are many other edifices of which
the majestic Angkor Wat is the largest and best preserved.
1 Perhaps a second Bhavavarman came between these last two kings; see
Coedes in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p 691.
2 See Mecquenem in B.E.F.E.O. 1913, No. 2.
3 But the captivity is only an inference and not a necessary one. Finot suggests
that the ancient royal house of Fu-nan may have resided at Java and have claimed
suzerain rights over Camboja which Jayavarman somehow abolished. The only
clear statements on the question are those in the Sdok Kak Thorn inscription,
Khmer text c. 72, which tell us that Camboja had been dependent on Java and
that Jayavarman II instituted a special state cult as a sign that this dependence
had come to an end.
It is true that the Hindu colonists of Camboja may have come from the island
of Java, yet no evidence supports the idea that Camboja was a dependency of the
island about 800 A.D. and the inscriptions of Champa seem to distinguish clearly
between Yavadvipa (the island) and the unknown country called Java. See Finot,
Notes d'Epig. pp. 48 and 240. Hence it seems unlikely that the barbarous pirates
(called the armies of Java) who invaded Champa in 787 (see the inscription of
Yang Tikuh) were from the island. The Siamese inscription of Rama Khomheng,
c. 1300 A.D., speaks of a place called Chava, which may be Luang Prabang. On the
other hand it does not seem likely that pirates, expressly described as using ships,
would have come from the interior.
110 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
King Indravarman (877-899) seems responsible for the selection
of the site but he merely commenced the construction of the
Bay on. The edifice was completed by his son Yasovarman
(889-908) who also built a town round it, called Yasodharapura,
Kambupuri or Mahanagara. Angkor Thorn is the Cambojan
translation of this last name, Angkor being a corruption of
Nokor (= Nagara). Yas"ovarman's empire comprised nearly all
Indo-China between Burma and Champa and he has been
identified with the Leper king of Cambojan legend. His suc
cessors continued to embellish Angkor Thorn, but Jayavar-
man IV abandoned it and it was deserted for several years until
Rajendravarman II (944-968) made it the capital again. The
Chinese Annals, supported by allusions in the inscriptions, state
that this prince conquered Champa. The long reigns of Jayavar-
man V, Suryavarman I, and Udayadityavarman, which cover
more than a century (968-1079) seem to mark a prosperous
period when architecture flourished, although Udayadityavar
man had to contend with two rebellions. Another great king,
Suryavarman II (1112-1162) followed shortly after them, and
for a time succeeded in uniting Camboja and Champa under his
sway. Some authorities credit him with a successful expedition
to Ceylon. There is not sufficient evidence for this, but he was
a great prince and, in spite of his foreign wars, maintained
peace and order at home.
Jayavarman VII, who appears to have reigned from 1162
to 1201, reduced to obedience his unruly vassals of the north
and successfully invaded Champa which remained for thirty
years, though not without rebellion, the vassal of Camboja. It
was evacuated by his successor Indravarman in 1220.
After this date there is again a gap of more than a century
in Cambojan history, and when the sequence of events becomes
clear again, we find that Siam has grown to be a dangerous and
aggressive enemy. But though the vigour of the kingdom may
have declined, the account of the Chinese traveller Chou Ta-kuan
who visited Angkor Thorn in 1296 shows that it was not in a
state of anarchy nor conquered by Siam. There had however
been a recent war with Siam and he mentions that the country
was devastated. He unfortunately does not tell us the name of
the reigning king and the list of sovereigns begins again only in
1340 when the Annals of Camboja take up the history. They
xxxvni] CAMBOJA 111
are not of great value. The custom of recording all events of
importance prevailed at the Cambojan Court in earlier times
but these chronicles were lost in the eighteenth century. King
Ang Chan (1796-1834) ordered that they should be re-written
with the aid of the Siamese chronicles and such other materials
as were available and fixed 1340 as the point of departure,
apparently because the Siamese chronicles start from that
date1. Although the period of the annals offers little but a
narrative of dissensions at home and abroad, of the interference
of Annam on one side and of Siam on the other, yet it does not
seem that the sudden cessation of inscriptions and of the ancient
style of architecture in the thirteenth century was due to the
collapse of Camboja, for even in the sixteenth century it offered
a valiant, and often successful, resistance to aggressions from
the west. But Angkor Thorn and the principal monuments
were situated near the Siamese frontier and felt the shock of
every collision. The sense of security, essential for the con
struction of great architectural works, had disappeared and the
population became less submissive and less willing to supply
forced labour without which such monuments could not be
erected.
The Siamese captured Angkor Thorn in 1313, 1351 and 1420
but did not on any occasion hold it for long. Again in 1473
they occupied Chant aboun, Korat and Angkor but had to
retire and conclude peace. King Ang Chan I successfully dis
puted the right of Siam to treat him as a vassal and established
his capital at Lovek, which he fortified and ornamented. He
reigned from 1505 to 1555 and both he and his son, Barom
Racha, seem entitled to rank among the great kings of Camboja.
But the situation was clearly precarious and when a minor suc
ceeded to the throne in 1574 the Siamese seized the opportunity
and recaptured Lovek and Chantaboun. Though this capture
was the death blow to the power of the Khmers, the kingdom
of Camboja did not cease to exist but for nearly three centuries
continued to have an eventful but uninteresting history as the
1 For these annals see F. Gamier, "La Chronique royale du Cambodje," J.A.
1871 and 1872. A. de Villemereuil, Explorations et Missions de Doudard de
Lagree, 1882. J. Moura, Le Royaume de Cambodje, vol. n. 1883. E. Aymonier,
Chronique des Anciens rois du Cambodje. (Excursions et reconnaissances. Saigon,
1881.)
112 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
vassal of Siam or Annam or even of both1, until in the middle
of the nineteenth century the intervention of France substituted
a European Protectorate for these Asiatic rivalries.
The provinces of Siem-reap and Battambang, in which
Angkor Thorn and the principal ancient monuments are situated,
were annexed by Siam at the end of the eighteenth century,
but in virtue of an arrangement negotiated by the French
Government they were restored to Camboja in 1907, Krat
and certain territories being at the same time ceded to Siam2.
The religious history of Camboja may be divided into two
periods, exclusive of the possible existence there of Hinayanist
Buddhism in the early centuries of our era. In the first period,
which witnessed the construction of the great monuments and
the reigns of the great kings, both Brahmanism and Mahayanist
Buddhism flourished, but as in Java and Champa without
mutual hostility. This period extends certainly from the sixth
to the thirteenth centuries and perhaps its limits should be
stretched to 400-1400 A.D. In any case it passed without abrupt
transition into the second period in which, under Siamese
influence, Hinayanist Buddhism supplanted the older faiths,
although the ceremonies of the Cambojan court still preserve a
good deal of Brahmanic ritual.
During the first period, Brahmanism and Mahay anism were
professed by the Court and nobility. The multitude of great
temples and opulent endowments, the knowledge of Sanskrit
literature and the use of Indian names, leave no doubt about
this, but it is highly probable that the mass of the people had
their own humbler forms of worship. Still there is no record of
anything that can be called Khmer — as opposed to Indian —
religion. As in Siam, the veneration of nature spirits is universal
in Camboja and little shrines elevated on poles are erected in
their honour in the neighbourhood of almost every house.
1 E.g. Ang Chan (1796-1834) received his crown from the King of Siam and
paid tribute to the King of Annam; Ang Duong (1846-1859) was crowned by
representatives of Annam and Siam and his territory was occupied by the troops
of both countries.
2 The later history of Camboja is treated in considerable detail by A. Leclerc,
Histoire de Cambodge, 1914.
xxxvm] CAMEOJA 113
Possibly the more important of these spirits were identified in
early times with Indian deities or received Sanskrit names.
Thus we hear of a pious foundation in honour of Brahmarak-
shas1, perhaps a local mountain spirit. Siva is adored under
the name of Sri Sikharesvara, the Lord of the Peak and Krishna
appears to be identified with a local god called Sri Champesvara
who was worshipped by Jayavarman VI2.
The practice of accepting and hinduizing strange gods with
whom they came in contact was so familiar to the Brahmans
that it would be odd if no examples of it occurred in Camboja.
Still the Brahmanic religion which has left such clear records
there was in the main not a hinduized form of any local cult
but a direct importation of Indian thought, ritual and literature.
The Indian invaders or colonists were accompanied by Brah
mans: their descendants continued to bear Indian names and
to give them to all places of importance: Sanskrit was the
ecclesiastical and official language, for the inscriptions written
in Khmer are clearly half-contemptuous notifications to the
common people, respecting such details as specially concerned
them: ASramas and castes (varna) are mentioned3 and it is
probable that natives were only gradually and grudgingly ad
mitted to the higher castes. There is also reason to believe that
this Hindu civilization was from time to time vivified by direct
contact with India. The embassy of Su-Wu has already been
mentioned4 and an inscription records the marriage of a Cam-
bo j an princess with a Brahman called Divakara who came from
the banks of the Yamuna, "where Krishna sported in his
infancy."
During the whole period of the inscriptions the worship of
Siva seems to have been the principal cultus and to some extent
the state religion, for even kings who express themselves in
their inscriptions as devout Buddhists do not fail to invoke
him. But there is no trace of hostility to Vishnuism and the
earlier inscriptions constantly celebrate the praises of the
compound deity Vishnu-Siva, known under such names as
1 Inscrip. of Moroun, Corpus, n. 387.
2 Other local deities may be alluded to, under the names of Sri Jayakshetra,
"the field of victory" adored at Basset Simadamataka, Sri Mandaresvara, and
£ri Jalangesvara. Aymonier, n. p. 297; I. pp. 305, 306 and 327.
5 Inscrip. of Lovek.
4 Prea Eynkosey, 970 A.D. See Corpus, I. pp. 77 ff.
114 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Hari-Hara1, Sambhu-Vishnu, Sarikara-Narayana, etc. Thus an
inscription of Ang-Pou dating from Isanavarman's reign says
''Victorious are Hara and Acyuta become one for the good of
the world, though as the spouses of Parvati and Sri they have
different forms2." But the worship of this double being is
accompanied by pure Sivaism and by the adoration of other
deities. In the earliest inscriptions Bhavavarman invokes Siva
and dedicates a linga. He also celebrates the compound deity
under the name of Sambhu-Vishnu and mentions Uma, Lak-
shmi, Bharati, Dharma, the Maruts, and Vishnu under the
names of Caturbhuja and Trailokyasara. There appears to be no
allusion to the worship of Vishnu-Siva as two in one after the
seventh century, but though Siva became exalted at the expense
of his partner, Vishnu must have had adorers for two kings,
Jayavarman III and Suryavarman II, were known after their
death by the names of Vishnu-loka and Parama- Vishnu-loka.
Siva became generally recognized as the supreme deity, in
a comprehensive but not an exclusive sense. He is the universal
spirit from whom emanate Brahma and Vishnu. His character
as the Destroyer is not much emphasized: he is the God of
change, and therefore of reproduction, whose symbol is the
Linga. It is remarkable to find that a pantheistic form of
Sivaism is clearly enunciated in one of the earliest inscriptions3.
Siva is there styled Vibhu, the omnipresent, Paramvrahma
(= Brahma), Jagatpati, Pasupati. An inscription found at
Angkor4 mentions an Acarya of the Pasupatas as well as an
Acarya of the Saivas and Chou Ta-kuan seems to allude to the
worshippers of Pasupati under the name of Pa-ssu-wei. It would
therefore appear that the Pasupatas existed in Camboja as a
distinct sect and there are some indications5 that ideas which
prevailed among the Lingayats also found their way thither.
1 This compound deity is celebrated in the Harivamsa and is represented in the
sculptures of the rock temple at Badami, which is dated 578 A.D. Thus his worship
may easily have reached Camboja in the sixth or seventh century.
2 Jayato jagatam bhutyai Kritasandhi Haracyutan, Parvatisripatitvena Bhin-
naraurttidharavapi. See also the Inscrip. of Ang Chumnik (667 A.D.), verses 11 and
12 in Corpus, i. p. 67.
3 The Bayang Inscription, Corpus, I. pp. 31 ff. which mentions the dates 604 and
626 as recent.
4 Corpus, n. p. 422 Saivapasupatacaryyau. The inscription fixes the relative
rank of various Acaryas.
6 See B.E.F.E.O. 1906, p. 70.
xxxvin]
CAMBOJA
115
The most interesting and original aspect of Cambojan
religion is its connection with the state and the worship of
deities somehow identified with the king or with prominent
personages1. These features are also found in Champa and Java.
In all these countries it was usual that when a king founded a
temple, the god worshipped in it should be called by his name
or by something like it. Thus when Bhadravarman dedicated a
temple to Siva, the god was styled Bhadresvara. More than
this, when a king or any distinguished person died, he was com
memorated by a statue which reproduced his features but
represented him with the attributes of his favourite god. Thus
Indravarman and Yasovarman dedicated at Bako and Lolei
shrines in which deceased members of the royal family were
commemorated in the form of images of Siva and Devi bearing
names similar to their own. Another form of apotheosis was to
describe a king by a posthumous title, indicating that he had
gone to the heaven of his divine patron such as Paramavishnu-
loka or Buddhaloka. The temple of Bayon was a truly national
fane, almost a Westminster abbey, in whose many shrines all
the gods and great men of the country were commemorated.
The French archaeologists recognize four classes of these shrines
dedicated respectively to (a) Indian deities, mostly special
forms of Siva, Devi and Vishnu; (6) Mahayanist Buddhas,
especially Buddhas of healing, who were regarded as the patron
saints of various towns and mountains ; (c) similar local deities
apparently of Cambojan origin and perhaps corresponding to
the God of the City worshipped in every Chinese town ; (d) deified
kings and notables, who appear to have been represented in
two forms, the human and divine, bearing slightly different
names. Thus one inscription speaks of Sri Mahendresvari who
is the divine form (vrah rupa) of the lady Sri Mahendra-
lakshmi.
The presiding deity of the Bayon was Siva, adored under the
form of the linga. The principal external ornaments of the
building are forty towers each surmounted by four heads. These
were formerly thought to represent Brahma but there is little
doubt that they are meant for lingas bearing four faces of Siva,
1 See specially on this subject, Coedes in Bull. Comm. Archeol de VIndochine,
1911, p. 38, and 1913, p. 81, and the letterpress of Le Bayon d'Angkor Thorn,
1914.
116 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
since each head has three eyes. Such lingas are occasionally
seen in India1 and many metal cases bearing faces and made
to be fitted on lingas have been discovered in Champa. These
four-headed columns are found on the gates of Angkor Thorn
as well as in the Bay on and are singularly impressive. The
emblem adored in the central shrine of the Bay on was probably
a linga but its title was Kamraten jagat ta raja or Devardja, the
king-god. More explicitly still it is styled Kamraten jagat ta
rdjya, the god who is the kingdom. It typified and contained
the royal essence present in the living king of Camboja and in
all her kings. Several inscriptions make it clear that not only
dead but living people could be represented by statue-portraits
which identified them with a deity, and in one very remarkable
record a general offers to the king the booty he has captured,
asking him to present it "to your subtle ego who is Isvara
dwelling in a golden linga2." Thus this subtle ego dwells in a
linga, is identical with Siva, and manifests itself in the successive
kings of the royal house.
The practices described have some analogies in India. The
custom of describing the god of a temple by the name of the
founder was known there3. The veneration of ancestors is
universal; there are some mausolea (for instance at Ahar near
Udeypore) and the notion that in life the soul can reside else
where than in the body is an occasional popular superstition.
Still these ideas and practices are not conspicuous features of
Hinduism and the Cambojans had probably come within the
sphere of another influence. In all eastern Asia the veneration
of the dead is the fundamental and ubiquitous form of religion
and in China we find fully developed such ideas as that the great
should be buried in monumental tombs, that a spirit can be
made to reside in a tablet or image, and that the human soul is
compound so that portions of it can be in different places.
These beliefs combined with the Indian doctrine that the deity
1 I have seen myself a stone lingam carved with four faces in a tank belonging
to a temple at Mahakut not far from Badami.
2 Suvarnamayalingagatesvare te sukshmantaratmani. Inscrip. of Prea Ngouk,
Corpus, i. p. 157.
3 E.g. see Epig. Indica, vol. in. pp. 1 ff. At Pa^tadkal (which region offers so
many points of resemblance to Camboja) King Vijayaditya founded a temple of
Vijayesvara and two Queens, Lokamahadevi and Trailokyamahadevi founded
temples of LokesVara and TrailokyesVara.
xxxvin] CAMBOJA 1 1 7
is manifested in incarnations, in the human soul and in images
afford a good theoretical basis for the worship of the Devaraja.
It was also agreeable to far-eastern ideas that religion and the
state should be closely associated and the Cambojan kings
would be glad to imitate the glories of the Son of Heaven.
But probably a simpler cause tended to unite church and state
in all these Hindu colonies. In mediaeval India the Brahmans
became so powerful that they could claim to represent religion
and civilization apart from the state. But in Camboja and
Champa Brahmanic religion and civilization were bound up
with the state. Both were attacked by and ultimately suc
cumbed to the same enemies.
The Brahmanism of Camboja, as we know it from the
inscriptions, was so largely concerned with the worship of this
"Royal God" that it might almost be considered a department
of the court. It seems to have been thought essential to the
dignity of a Sovereign who aspired to be more than a local
prince, that his Chaplain or preceptor should have a pontifical
position. A curious parallel to this is shown by those mediaeval
princes of eastern Europe who claimed for their chief bishops
the title of patriarch as a complement to their own imperial
pretensions. In its ultimate form the Cambojan hierarchy was
the work of Jayavarman II, who, it will be remembered, re
established the kingdom after an obscure but apparently dis
astrous interregnum. He made the priesthood of the Royal
God hereditary in the family of Sivakaivalya and the sacerdotal
dynasty thus founded enjoyed during some centuries a power
inferior only to that of the kings.
In the inscriptions of Sdok Kak Thorn1 the history of this
family is traced from the reign of Jayavarman II to 1052. The
beginning of the story as related in both the Sanskrit and
Khmer texts is interesting but obscure. It is to the effect that
Jayavarman, anxious to assure his position as an Emperor
(Cakravartin) independent of Java2, summoned from Janapada
a Brahman called Hiranyadama, learned in magic (siddhividya),
who arranged the rules (viddhi) for the worship of the Royal
God and taught the king's Chaplain, Sivakaivalya, four
treatises called Vrah Vinasikha, Nayottara, Sammoha and
1 Aymonier, n. pp. 257 ff. and especially Finot in B.E.F.E.O. 1915, xv. 2,
p. 53. a See above.
118 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
Sirascheda. These works are not otherwise known1. The king
made a solemn compact that "only the members of his (Siva-
kaivalya's) maternal2 family, men and women, should be
Yajakas (sacrificers or officiants) to the exclusion of all others."
The restriction refers no doubt only to the cult of the Royal
God and the office of court chaplain, called Purohita, Guru or
Hotri, of whom there were at least two.
The outline of this narrative, that a learned Brahman was
imported and charged with the instruction of the royal chaplain,
is simple and probable but the details are perplexing. The
Sanskrit treatises mentioned are unknown and the names
singular. Janapada as the name of a definite locality is also
strange3, but it is conceivable that the word may have been
used in Khmer as a designation of India or a part of it.
The inscription goes on to relate the gratifying history of
the priestly family, the grants of land made to them, the honours
they received. We gather that it was usual for an estate to be
given to a priest with the right to claim forced labour from the
population. He then proceeded to erect a town or village em
bellished with temples and tanks. The hold of Brahmanism on
the country probably depended more on such priestly towns
than on the convictions of the people. The inscriptions often
speak of religious establishments being restored and sometimes
say that they had become deserted and overgrown. We may
conclude that if the Brahman lords of a village ceased for any
reason to give it their attention, the labour and contributions
requisite for the upkeep of the temples were not forthcoming
and the jungle was allowed to grow over the buildings.
Numerous inscriptions testify to the grandeur of the Siva-
kaivalya family. The monotonous lists of their properties and
slaves, of the statues erected in their honour and the number
of parasols borne before them show that their position was
almost regal, even when the king was a Buddhist. They pru
dently refrained from attempting to occupy the throne, but
1 Sammohana and Niruttara are given as names of Tantras. The former word
may perhaps be the beginning of a compound. There are Pali works called Sammo-
havinodini and S. vinasini. The inscription calls the four treatises the four faces of
Tumburn.
2 This shows that matriarchy must have been in force in Camboja.
3 Janapada as the name of a locality is cited by Bothlingck and Roth from the
Gana to Panini, 4. 2. 82.
xxxvm] CAMBOJA 119
probably no king could succeed unless consecrated by them.
Sadasiva, Sankarapandita and Divakarapandita formed an
ecclesiastical dynasty from about 1000 to 1100 A.D. parallel to
the long reigns of the kings in the same period1. The last-named
mentions in an inscription that he had consecrated three kings
and Sarikarapandita, a man of great learning, was de facto
sovereign during the minority of his pupil Udayadityavarman
nor did he lose his influence when the young king attained his
majority.
The shrine of the Royal God was first near Mt Mahendra
and was then moved to Hariharalaya2. Its location was
definitely fixed in the reign of Indravarman, about 877 A.D.
Two Sivakaivalya Brahmans, Sivasoma and his pupil Vamasiva,
chaplain of the king, built a temple called the Sivasrama and
erected a linga therein. It is agreed that this building is the
Bayon, which formed the centre of the later city of Angkor.
Indravarman also illustrated another characteristic of the court
religion by placing in the temple now called Prah Kou three
statues of Siva with the features of his father, grandfather and
Jayavarman II together with corresponding statues of Sakti in
the likeness of their wives. The next king, Yasovarman, who
founded the town of Angkor round the Bayon, built near his
palace another linga temple, now known as Ba-puon. He also
erected two convents, one Brahmanic and one Buddhist. An
inscription3 gives several interesting particulars respecting the
former. It fixes the provisions to be supplied to priests and
students and the honours to be rendered to distinguished
visitors. The right of sanctuary is accorded and the sick and
helpless are to receive food and medicine. Also funeral rites
are to be celebrated within its precincts for the repose of the
friendless and those who have died in war. The royal residence
was moved from Angkor in 928, but about twenty years later
the court returned thither and the inscriptions record that the
Royal God accompanied it.
The cultus was probably similar to what may be seen in the
1 Possibly others may have held office during this long period, but evidently all
three priests lived to be very old men and each may have been Guru for forty years.
2 This place which means merely "the abode of Hari and Kara" has not been
identified.
3 Corpus, II. Inscrip. Ivi. especially pp. 248-251.
120 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Sivaite temples of India to-day. The principal lingam was
placed in a shrine approached through other chambers and
accessible only to privileged persons. Libations were poured
over the emblem and sacred books were recited. An interesting
inscription1 of about 600 A.D. relates how Srisomasarman (prob
ably a Brahman) presented to a temple "the Ramayana, the
Purana and complete Bharata" and made arrangements for
their recitation. Sanskrit literature was held in esteem. We are
told that Suryavarman I was versed in the Atharva-Veda and
also in the Bhashya, Kavyas, the six Darsanas, and the Dhar-
masastras2. Sacrifices are also frequently mentioned and one
inscription records the performance of a Kotihoma3. The old
Vedic ritual remained to some extent in practice, for no circum
stances are more favourable to its survival than a wealthy
court dominated by a powerful hierarchy. Such ceremonies
were probably performed in the ample enclosures surrounding
the temples4.
Mahayanist Buddhism existed in Camboja during the whole
of the period covered by the inscriptions, but it remained
in such close alliance with Brahmanism that it is hard to say
whether it should be regarded as a separate religion. The idea
that the two systems were incompatible obviously never
occurred to the writers of the inscriptions and Buddhism was
not regarded as more distinct from Sivaism and Vishnuism
than these from one another. It had nevertheless many fervent
and generous, if not exclusive, admirers. The earliest record of
its existence is a short inscription dating from the end of the
sixth or beginning of the seventh century5, which relates how
a person called Pon Prajna Candra dedicated male and female
slaves to the three Bodhisattvas, Sasta6, Maitreya and Avalo-
Veal Kantel, Corpus, i. p. 28.
Inscr. of Prah Khan, B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 675.
B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 677.
Just as a Vedic sacrifice was performed in the court of the temple of Chidara-
bar m about 1908.
Aymonier, Cambodja, i. p. 442.
6asta sounds like a title of Sakyamuni, but, if Aymonier is correct, the per-
sonage is described as a Bodhisattva. There were pagoda slaves even in modern
Burma.
xxxvin] CAMBOJA 121
kitesvara. The title given to the Bodhisattvas (Vrah Kamrata
an) which is also borne by Indian deities shows that this Bud
dhism was not very different from the Brahmanic cult of Cam-
bo j a.
It is interesting to find that Yasovarman founded in Angkor
Thorn a Saugatasrama or Buddhist monastery parallel to his
Brahmanasrama already described. Its inmates enjoyed the
same privileges and had nearly the same rules and duties, being
bound to afford sanctuary, maintain the destitute and perform
funeral masses. It is laid down that an Acarya versed in Bud
dhist lore corresponds in rank to the Acaryas of the Saivas and
Fasupatas and that in both institutions greater honour is to
be shown to such Acaryas as also are learned in grammar. A
Buddhist Acarya ought to be honoured a little less than a
learned Brahman. Even in form the inscriptions recording the
foundation of the two Asramas show a remarkable parallelism.
Both begin with two stanzas addressed to Siva: then the
Buddhist inscription inserts a stanza in honour of the Buddha
who delivers from transmigration and gives nirvana, and then
the two texts are identical for several stanzas1.
Mahayanism appears to have flourished here especially
from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries and throughout the
greater part of this period we find the same feature that its
principal devotees were not the kings but their ministers.
Suryavarman I (f 1049) and Jayavarman VII (f 1221) in some
sense deserved the name of Buddhists since the posthumous
title of the former was Nirvanapada and the latter left a long
inscription2 beginning with a definitely Buddhist invocation.
Yet an inscription of Suryavarman which states in its second
verse that only the word of the Buddha is true, opens by singing
the praises of Siva, and Jayavarman certainly did not neglect
the Brahmanic gods. But for about a hundred years there was
a series of great ministers who specially encouraged Buddhism.
Such were Satyavarman (c. 900 A.D.), who was charged with
the erection of the building in Angkor known as Phimeanakas;
Kavindrarimathana, minister under Rajendravarman II and
Jayavarman V, who erected many Buddhist statues and
Kirtipandita, minister of Jayavarman V. Kirtipandita was the
1 See Coedes, "La Stele de Tep Pranam," in J.A. xi. 1908, p. 203.
2 Inscrip. of Ta Prohm, B.E.F.E.O. 1906, p. 44.
122 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
author1 of the inscription found at Srey Santhor, which states
that thanks to his efforts the pure doctrine of the Buddha re
appeared like the moon from behind the clouds or the sun at
dawn.
It may be easily imagined that the power enjoyed by the
court chaplain would dispose the intelligent classes to revolt
against this hierarchy and to favour liberty and variety in
religion, so far as was safe. Possibly the kings, while co-operat
ing with a priesthood which recognized them as semi-divine,
were glad enough to let other religious elements form some sort
of counterpoise to a priestly family which threatened to be
omnipotent. Though the identification of Sivaism and Buddhism
became so complete that we actually find a Trinity composed
of Padmodbhava (Brahma), Ambhojanetra (Vishnu) and the
Buddha2, the inscriptions of the Buddhist ministers are marked
by a certain diplomacy and self-congratulation on the success
of their efforts, as if they felt that their position was meritorious,
yet delicate.
Thus in an inscription, the object of which seems to be to
record the erection of a statue of Prajna-paramita by Kavin-
drarimathana we are told that the king charged him with the
embellishment of Yasodharapura because "though an eminent
Buddhist" his loyalty was above suspicion3. The same minister
erected three towers at Bat Cum with inscriptions4 which record
the dedication of a tank. The first invokes the Buddha, Vajra-
pani5 and Lokesvara. In the others Lokesvara is replaced by
Prajna-paramita who here, as elsewhere, is treated as a goddess
or Sakti and referred to as Devi in another stanza6. The three
inscriptions commemorate the construction of a sacred tank
1 See Senart in Revue Archdologique, 1883. As in many inscriptions it is not
always plain who is speaking but in most parts it is apparently the minister pro
mulgating the instructions of the king.
2 Inscript. of Prasat Prah Khse, Corpus, I. p. 173.
8 Buddhanam agranir api, J.A. xx. 1882, p. 164.
4 See Coedes, "Inscriptions de Bat Cum," in J.A. xn. 1908, pp. 230, 241.
5 The Bodhisattva corresponding to the Buddha Akshobhya. He is green or
blue and carries a thunderbolt. It seems probable that he is a metamorphosis of
Indra.
6 An exceedingly curious stanza eulogizes the doctrine of the non-existence
of the soul taught by the Buddha which leads to identification with the universal
soul although contrary to it. Vuddho vodhim vidaddhyad vo yena nairatmyadar-
6anam viruddhasyapi sadhuktam sadhanam paramatmanah.
xxxvin]
CAMBOJA
123
but, though the author was a Buddhist, he expressly restricts
the use of it to Brahmanic functionaries.
The inscription of Srey Santhor1 (c. 975 A.D.) describes the
successful efforts of Kirtipandita to restore Buddhism and gives
the instructions of the king (Jayavarman V) as to its status.
The royal chaplain is by no means to abandon the worship of
Siva but he is to be well versed in Buddhist learning and on
feast days he will bathe the statue of the Buddha with due
ceremony.
A point of interest in this inscription is the statement that
Kirtipandita introduced Buddhist books from abroad, including
the Sastra Madhyavibhaga and the commentary on the Tattva-
sangraha. The first of these is probably the Madhyantavibhaga
sastra2 by Vasubandhu and the authorship is worth attention
as supporting Taranatha's statement that the disciples of
Vasubandhu introduced Buddhism into Indo-China.
In the time of Jayavarman VII (c. 1185 A.D.), although
Hindu mythology is not discarded and though the king's
chaplain (presumably a Sivaite) receives every honour, yet
Mahayanist Buddhism seems to be frankly professed as the
royal religion. It is noteworthy that about the same time it
becomes more prominent in Java and Champa. Probably the
flourishing condition of the faith in Ceylon and Burma increased
the prestige of all forms of Buddhism throughout south-eastern
Asia. A long inscription of Jayavarman in 145 stanzas has been
preserved in the temple of Ta Prohm near Angkor. It opens
with an invocation to the Buddha, in which are mentioned the
three bodies, Lokesvara3, and the Mother of the Jinas, by whom
Prajna-paramita must be meant. Siva is not invoked but
allusion is made to many Brahmanic deities and Bhikkhus and
Brahmans are mentioned together. The inscription contains a
curious list of the materials supplied daily for the temple
services and of the personnel. Ample provision is made for
both, but it is not clear how far a purely Buddhist ritual is
contemplated and it seems probable that an extensive Brah
manic cultus existed side by side with the Buddhist ceremonial.
1 Aymonier, i pp. 261 ff. Senart, Revue Archeologique, Mars-Avril, 1883.
2 Nanjio, 1244 and 1248.
8 The common designation of Avalokita in Camboja and Java. For the inscrip
tion see B.E.F.E.O. 1906, pp. 44 ff.
E. m. a
124 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
We learn that there were clothes for the deities and forty-five
mosquito nets of Chinese material to protect their statues. The
Uposatha days seem to be alluded to1 and the spring festival is
described, when "Bhagavat and Bhagavati" are to be escorted
in solemn procession with parasols, music, banners and dancing
girls. The whole staff, including Burmese and Chams (probably
slaves), is put down at the enormous figure of 79,365, which
perhaps includes all the neighbouring inhabitants who could be
called on to render any service to the temple. The more sacer
dotal part of the establishment consisted of 18 principal priests
(adhikarinah), 2740 priests and 2232 assistants, including 615
dancing girls. But even these figures seem very large2.
The inscription comes to a gratifying conclusion by an
nouncing that there are 102 hospitals in the kingdom3. These
institutions, which are alluded to in other inscriptions, were
probably not all founded by Jayavarman VII and he seems to
treat them as being, like temples, a natural part of a well-
ordered state. But he evidently expended much care and money
on them and in the present inscription he makes over the fruit
of these good deeds to his mother. The most detailed description
of these hospitals occurs in another of his inscriptions found at
Say-fong in Laos. It is, like the one just cited, definitely Bud
dhist and it is permissible to suppose that Buddhism took a
more active part than Brahmanism in such works of charity.
It opens with an invocation first to the Buddha who in his
three bodies transcends the distinction between existence and
non-existence, and then to the healing Buddha and the two
Bodhisattvas who drive away darkness and disease. These
divinities, who are the lords of a heaven in the east, analogous
to the paradise of Amitabha, are still worshipped in China and
Japan and were evidently gods of light4. The hospital erected
1 Stanza XLVT.
2 The inscription only says "There are here (atra)." Can this mean in the
various religious establishments maintained by the king?
8 See also Finot, Notes d'Epig. pp. 332-335. The Mahavamsa repeatedly men
tions that kings founded hospitals and distributed medicines. See too, Yule, Marco
Polo, i. p. 446. The care of the sick was recognized as a duty and a meritorious act in
all Buddhist countries and is recommended by the example of the Buddha himself.
4 Their somewhat lengthy titles are Bhaishajyaguruvaiduryaprabharaja, Surya-
vairocanacandaroci and Candravairocanarohinisa. See for an account of them and
the texts on which their worship is founded the learned article of M. Pelliot, "Le
Bhaisajyaguru," B.E.F.E.O. 1903, p. 33.
xxxvm]
CAMBOJA
125
under their auspices by the Cambojan king was open to all the
four castes and had a staff of 98 persons, besides an astrologer
and two sacrificers (yajaka).
These inscriptions of Jayavarman are the last which tell
us anything about the religion of mediaeval Camboja but we
have a somewhat later account from the pen of Chou Ta-kuan,
a Chinese who visited Angkor in 12961. He describes the
temple in the centre of the city, which must be the Bayon, and
says that it had a tower of gold and that the eastern (or princi
pal) entrance was approached by a golden bridge flanked by
two lions and eight statues, all of the same metal. The chapter
of his work entitled "The Three Religions," runs as follows,
slightly abridged from M. Pelliot's version.
"The literati are called Pan-ch'i, the bonzes Ch'u-ku and the
Taoists Pa-ssu-wei. I do not know whom the Pan-ch'i worship.
They have no schools and it is difficult to say what books they
read. They dress like other people except that they wear a
white thread round their necks, which is their distinctive mark.
They attain to very high positions. The Ch'u-ku shave their
heads and wear yellow clothes. They uncover the right shoulder,
but the lower part of their body is draped with a skirt of yellow
cloth and they go bare foot. Their temples are sometimes
roofed with tiles. Inside there is only one image, exactly like
the Buddha Sakya, which they call Po-lai (= Prah), ornamented
with vermilion and blue, and clothed in red. The Buddhas of
the towers ( ? images in the towers of the temples) are different
and cast in bronze. There are no bells, drums, cymbals, or flags
in their temples. They eat only one meal a day, prepared by
someone who entertains them, for they do not cook in their
temples. They eat fish and meat and also use them in their
offerings to Buddha, but they do not drink wine. They recite
numerous texts written on strips of palm-leaf. Some bonzes
have a right to have the shafts of their palanquins and the
handles of their parasols in gold or silver. The prince consults
them on serious matters. There are no Buddhist nuns.
"The Pa-ssu-wei dress like everyone else, except that they
wear on their heads a piece of red or white stuff like the Ku-ku
1 His narrative is translated by M. Pelliot in B.E.F.E.O. 1902, pp. 123-177.
126 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
worn by Tartar women but lower. Their temples are smaller
than those of the Buddhists, for Taoism is less prosperous than
Buddhism. They worship nothing but a block of stone, somewhat
like the stone on the altar of the God of the Sun in China. I
do not know what god they adore. There are also Taoist nuns.
The Pa-ssu-wei do not partake of the food of other people or
eat in public. They do not drink wine.
"Such children of the laity as go to school frequent the
bonzes, who give them instruction. When grown up they
return to a lay life.
"I have not been able to make an exhaustive investigation."
Elsewhere he says "All worship the Buddha" and he
describes some popular festivals which resemble those now
celebrated in Siam. In every village there was a temple or a
Stupa. He also mentions that in eating they use leaves as
spoons and adds "It is the same in their sacrifices to the spirits
and to Buddha."
Chou Ta-kuan confesses that his account is superficial and
he was perhaps influenced by the idea that it was natural there
should be three religions in Camboja, as in China. Buddhists
were found in both countries: Pan-ch'i no doubt represents
Pandita and he saw an analogy between the Brahmans of the
Cambojan Court and Confucian mandarins: a third and less
known sect he identified with the Taoists. The most important
point in his description is the prominence given to the Buddhists.
His account of their temples, of the dress and life of their
monks1 leaves no doubt that he is describing Hinayanist Bud
dhism such as still flourishes in Camboja. It probably found its
way from Siam, with which Camboja had already close, but
not always peaceful, relations. Probably the name by which
the bonzes are designated is Siamese2. With Chou Ta-kuan's
statements may be compared the inscription of the Siamese
King Rama Khomheng3 which dwells on the flourishing con
dition of Pali Buddhism in Siam about 1300 A.D. The contrast
indicated by Chou Ta-kuan is significant. The Brahmans held
1 Pelliot (B.E.F.E.O. 1902, p. 148) cites a statement from the Ling Wai Tai Ta
that there were two classes of bonzes in Camboja, those who wore yellow robes
and married and those who wore red robes and lived in convents.
2 M. Finot conjectures that it represents the Siamese Chao (Lord) and a corrup
tion of Guru.
3 See chapter on Siam, sect. 1.
xxxvin]
CAMBOJA
127
high office but had no schools. Those of the laity who desired
education spent some portion of their youth in a Buddhist
monastery (as they still do) and then returned to the world.
Such a state of things naturally resulted in the diffusion of
Buddhism among the people, while the Brahmans dwindled to
a Court hierarchy. When Chou Ta-kuan says that all the Cam-
bojans adored Buddha, he probably makes a mistake, as he
does in saying that the sculptures above the gates of Angkor
are heads of Buddha. But the general impression which he
evidently received that everyone frequented Buddhist temples
and monasteries speaks for itself. His statement about sacri
fices to Buddha is remarkable and, since the inscriptions of
Jayavarman VII speak of sacrificers, it cannot be rejected as a
mere mistake. But if Hinayanist Buddhism countenanced such
practices in an age of transition, it did not adopt them per
manently for, so far as I have seen, no offerings are made to-day
in Cambojan temples, except flowers and sticks of incense.
The Pa-ssu-wei have given rise to many conjectures and have
been identified with the Basaih or sacerdotal class of the Chams.
But there seems to be little doubt that the word really represents
Pasupata and Chou Ta-kuan's account clearly points to a sect
of linga worshippers, although no information is forthcoming
about the "stone on the altar of the Sun God in China" to
which he compares their emblem. His idea that they repre
sented the Taoists in Camboja may have led him to exaggerate
their importance but his statement that they were a separate
body is confirmed, for an inscription of Angkor1 defines the
order of hierarchical precedence as "the Brahman, the Saiva
Acarya, the Pasupata Acarya2."
From the time of Chou Ta-kuan to the present day I have
1 Corpus, IT. p. 422.
2 The strange statement of Chou Ta-kuan (pp. 153-155) that the Buddhist and
Taoist priests enjoyed a species of jus primce noctis has been much discussed.
Taken by itself it might be merely a queer story founded on a misunderstanding
of Cambojan customs, for he candidly says that his information is untrustworthy.
But taking it in connection with the stories about the Aris in Burma (see especially
Finot, J.A. 1912, p. 121) and the customs attributed by Chinese and Europeans
to the Siamese and Philippines, we can hardly come to any conclusion except that
this strange usage was an aboriginal custom in Indo-China and the Archipelago,
prior to the introductions of Indian civilization, but not suppressed for some time.
At the present day there seems to be no trace or even tradition of such a custom.
For Siamese and Philippine customs see B.E.F.E.O. 1902, p. 153, note 4.
128 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
found few notices about the religion of Camboja. Hinayahist
Buddhism became supreme and though we have few details of
the conquest we can hardly go wrong in tracing its general
lines. Brahmanism was exclusive and tyrannical. It made no
appeal to the masses but a severe levy of forced labour must
have been necessary to erect and maintain the numerous great
shrines which, though in ruins, are still the glory of Camboja1.
In many of them are seen the remains of inscriptions which
have been deliberately erased. These probably prescribed cer
tain onerous services which the proletariat was bound to render
to the established church. When Siamese Buddhism invaded
Camboja it had a double advantage. It was the creed of an
aggressive and successful neighbour but, while thus armed with
the weapons of this world, it also appealed to the poor and
oppressed. If it enjoyed the favour of princes, it had no desire
to defend the rights of a privileged caste : it offered salvation
and education to the average townsman and villager. If it
invited the support and alms of the laity, it was at least modest
in its demands. Brahmanism on the other hand lost strength
as the prestige of the court declined. Its greatest shrines were
in the provinces most exposed to Siamese attacks. The first
Portuguese writers speak of them as already deserted at the
end of the sixteenth century. The connection with India was
not kept up and if any immigrants came from the west, after
the twelfth century they are more likely to have been Moslims
than Hindus. Thus driven from its temples, with no roots
among the people, whose affections it had never tried to win,
Brahmanism in Camboja became what it now is, a court
ritual without a creed and hardly noticed except at royal
functions.
It is remarkable that Mohammedanism remained almost
unknown to Camboja, Siam and Burma. The tide of Moslim
invasion swept across the Malay Peninsula southwards. Its
effect was strongest in Sumatra and Java, feebler on the coasts
of Borneo and the Philippines. From the islands it reached
Champa, where it had some success, but Siam and Camboja
lay on one side of its main route, and also showed no sympathy
1 The French Archaeological Commission states that exclusive of Angkor and
the neighbouring buildings there are remains of 600 temples in Camboja, and
probably many have entirely disappeared.
xxxvm] CAMBOJA 129
for it. King Rama Thuppdey Chan1 who reigned in Camboja
from 1642-1659 became a Mohammedan and surrounded him
self with Malays and Javanese. But he alienated the affections
of his subjects and was deposed by the intervention of Annam.
After this we hear no more of Mohammedanism. An unusual
incident, which must be counted among the few cases in which
Buddhism has encouraged violence, is recorded in the year 1730,
when a Laotian who claimed to be inspired, collected a band of
fanatics and proceeded to massacre in the name of Buddha all
the Annamites resident in Camboja. This seems to show that
Buddhism was regarded as the religion of the country and could
be used as a national cry against strangers.
As already mentioned Brahmanism still survives in the
court ceremonial though this by no means prevents the king
from being a devout Buddhist. The priests are known as Bakus.
They wear a top-knot and the sacred thread after the Indian
fashion, and enjoy certain privileges. Within the precincts of
the palace at Phnom Penh is a modest building where they still
guard the sword of Indra. About two inches of the blade are
shown to visitors, but except at certain festivals it is never
taken out of its sheath.
The official programme of the coronation of King Sisowath
(April 23-28, 1906), published in French and Cambojan, gives
a curious account of the ceremonies performed, which were
mainly Brahmanic, although prayers were recited by the Bonzes
and offerings made to Buddha. Four special Brahmanic shrines
were erected and the essential part of the rite consisted in a
lustral bath, in which the Bakus poured water over the king.
Invocations were addressed to beings described as "Anges qui
etes au paradis des six sejours celestes, qui habitez aupres
d'Indra, de Brahma et de 1'archange Sahabodey," to the spirits
of mountains, valleys and rivers and to the spirits who guard
the palace. When the king has been duly bathed the programme
prescribes that "le Directeur des Bakous remettra la couronne
a M. le Gouverneur General qui la portera sur la tete de Sa
Majeste au nom du Gouvernement de la Republique Fran9aise."
Equally curious is the "Programme des fetes royales a 1'occasion
de la cremation de S.M. Norodom" (January 2-16, 1906). The
lengthy ceremonial consisted of a strange mixture of prayers,
1 Maspdro, pp. 62-3.
130 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
sermons, pageants and amusements. The definitely religious
exercises were Buddhist and the amusements which accom
panied them, though according to our notions curiously out of
place, clearly correspond to the funeral games of antiquity.
Thus we read not only of "offrande d'un repas aux urnes
royales" but of "illuminations generates ... lancement de
ballons. . .luttes et assauts de boxe et de 1'escrime. . .danses et
soiree de gala. . . . Apres la cremation, Sa Majeste distribuera des
billets de tombola."
The ordinary Buddhism of Camboja at the present day
resembles that of Siam and is not mixed with Brahmanic ob
servances. Monasteries are numerous : the monks enjoy general
respect and their conduct is said to be beyond reproach. They
act as schoolmasters and, as in Siam and Burma, all young men
spend some time in a monastery. A monastery generally con
tains from thirty to fifty monks and consists of a number of
wooden houses raised on piles and arranged round a square.
Each monk has a room and often a house to himself. Besides
the dwelling houses there are also stores and two halls called
Sala and Vihear (vihara). In both the Buddha is represented
by a single gigantic sitting image, before which are set flowers
and incense. As a rule there are no other images but the walls
are often ornamented with frescoes of Jataka stories or the
early life of Gotama. Meals are taken in the Sala at about 7 and
11 a.m.1, and prayers are recited there on ordinary days in the
morning and evening. The eleven o'clock meal is followed by a
rather long grace. The prayers consist mostly of Pali formulae,
such as the Three Refuges, but they are sometimes in Cambojan
and contain definite petitions or at least wishes formulated
before the image of the Buddha. Thus I have heard prayers for
peace and against war. The more solemn ceremonies, such as
the Uposatha and ordinations, are performed in the Vihear.
The recitation of the Patimokkha is regularly performed and I
have several times witnessed it. All but ordained monks have
to withdraw outside the Sima stones during the service. The
ceremony begins about 6 p.m.: the Bhikkhus kneel down in
pairs face to face and rubbing their foreheads in the dust ask
for mutual forgiveness if they have inadvertently offended.
1 The food is prepared in the monasteries, and, as in other countries, the begging
round is a mere formality.
XXXVTII]
CAMBOJA
131
This ceremony is also performed on other occasions. It is
followed by singing or intoning lauds, after which comes the
recitation of the Patimokkha itself which is marked by great
solemnity. The reader sits in a large chair on the arms of which
are fixed many lighted tapers. He repeats the text by heart
but near him sits a prompter with a palm-leaf manuscript
who, if necessary, corrects the words recited. I have never
seen a monk confess in public, and I believe that the usual
practice is for sinful brethren to abstain from attending the
ceremony and then to confess privately to the Abbot, who
assigns them a penance. As soon as the Patimokkha is concluded
all the Bhikkhus smoke large cigarettes. In most Buddhist
countries it is not considered irreverent to smoke1, chew betel
or drink tea in the intervals of religious exercises. When the
cigarettes are finished there follows a service of prayer and
praise in Cambojan. During the season of Wassa there are
usually several Bhikkhus in each monastery who practise
meditation for three or four days consecutively in tents or
enclosures made of yellow cloth, open above but closed all
round. The four stages of meditation described in the Pitakas
are jaid to be commonly attained by devout monks2.
The Abbot has considerable authority in disciplinary matters.
He eats apart from the other monks and at religious ceremonies
wears a sort of red cope, whereas the dress of the other brethren
is entirely yellow. Novices prostrate themselves when they
speak to him.
Above the Abbots are Provincial Superiors and the govern
ment of the whole Church is in the hands of the Somdec prah
sanghrac. There is, or was, also a second prelate called Lok prah
s6kon, or Brah Sugandha, and the two, somewhat after the
manner of the two primates of the English Church, supervise
the clergy in different parts of the kingdom, the second being
inferior to the first in rank, but not dependent on him. But it
is said that no successor has been appointed to the last Brah
Sugandha who died in 1894. He was a distinguished scholar
and introduced the Dhammayut sect from Siam into Camboja.
1 But in Chinese temples notices forbidding smoking are often posted on the
doors.
3 The word dhyana is known, but the exercise is more commonly called Vi-
passana or Kaminathana.
132 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
The king is recognized as head of the Church, but cannot alter
its doctrine or confiscate ecclesiastical property.
6
No account of Cambojan religion would be complete without
some reference to the splendid monuments in which it found
expression and which still remain in a great measure intact.
The colonists who established themselves in these regions
brought with them the Dravidian taste for great buildings, but
either their travels enlarged their artistic powers or they
modified the Indian style by assimilating successfully some
architectural features found in their new home. What pre-
Indian architecture there may have been among the Khmers
we do not know, but the fact that the earliest known monu
ments are Hindu makes it improbable that stone buildings on a
large scale existed before their arrival. The feature which most
clearly distinguishes Cambojan from Indian architecture is its
pyramidal structure. India has stupas and gopurams of pyra
midal appearance but still Hindu temples of the normal type,
both in the north and south, consist of a number of buildings
erected on the same level. In Camboja on the contrary many
buildings, such as Ta-Keo, Ba-phuong and the Phimeanakas,
are shrines on the top of pyramids, which consist of three storeys
or large steps, ascended by flights of relatively small steps. In
other buildings, notably Angkor Wat, the pyramidal form is
obscured by the slight elevation of the storeys compared with
their breadth and by the elaboration of the colonnades and other
edifices, which they bear. But still the general plan is that of
a series of courts each rising within and above the last and this
gradual rise, by which the pilgrim is led, not only through
colonnade after colonnade, but up flight after flight of stairs,
each leading to something higher but invisible from the base,
imparts to Cambojan temples a sublimity and aspiring grandeur
which is absent from the mysterious halls of Dravidian shrines.
One might almost suppose that the Cambojan architects
had deliberately set themselves to rectify the chief faults of
Indian architecture. One of these is the profusion of external
ornament in high relief which by its very multiplicity ceases to
produce any effect proportionate to its elaboration, with the
xxxvin] CAMBOJA 133
result that the general view is disappointing and majestic out
lines are wanting. In Cambojan buildings on the contrary the
general effect is not sacrificed to detail: the artists knew how
to make air and space give dignity to their work. Another
peculiar defect of many Dravidian buildings is that they were
gradually erected round some ancient and originally humble
shrine with the unfortunate result that the outermost courts
and gateways are the most magnificent and that progress to
the holy of holies is a series of artistic disappointments. But at
Angkor Wat this fault is carefully avoided. The long paved
road which starts from the first gateway isolates the great
central mass of buildings without dwarfing it and even in
the last court, when one looks up the vast staircases leading
to the five towers which crown the pyramid, all that has led
up to the central shrine seems, as it should, merely an intro
duction.
The solidity of Cambojan architecture is connected with the
prevalence of inundations. With such dangers it was of primary
importance to have a massive substructure which could not be
washed away and the style which was necessary in building a
firm stone platform inspired the rest of the work. Some un
finished temples reveal the interesting fact that they were
erected first as piles of plain masonry. Then came the decorator
and carved the stones as they stood in their places, so that
instead of carving separate blocks he was able to contemplate
his design as a whole and to spread it over many stones. Hence
most Cambojan buildings have a peculiar air of unity. They
have not had ornaments affixed to them but have grown into
an ornamental whole. Yet if an unfavourable criticism is to
be made on these edifices — especially Angkor Wat — it is that
the sculptures are wanting in meaning and importance. They
cannot be compared to the reliefs of Boroboedoer, a veritable
catechism in stone where every clause teaches the believer
something new, or even to the piles of figures in Dravidian
temples which, though of small artistic merit, seem to represent
the whirl of the world with all its men and monsters, struggling
from life into death and back to life again. The reliefs in the
great corridors of Angkor are purely decorative. The artist
justly felt that so long a stretch of plain stone would be
wearisome, and as decoration, his work is successful. Looking
134 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
outwards the eye is satisfied with such variety as the trees and
houses in the temple courts afford: looking inwards it finds
similar variety in the warriors and deities portrayed on the
walls. Some of the scenes have an historical interest, but the
attempt to follow the battles of the Ramayana or the Churning
of the Sea soon becomes a tedious task, for there is little
individuality or inspiration in the figures.
This want of any obvious correspondence between the
decoration and cult of the Cambojan temples often makes it
difficult to say to what deities they were dedicated. The Bayon,
or Sivasrama, was presumably a linga temple, yet the conjecture
is not confirmed as one would expect by any indubitable evi
dence in the decoration or arrangements. In its general plan
the building seems more Indian than others and, like the temple
of Jagannatha at Puri, consists of three successive chambers,
each surmounted by a tower. The most remarkable feature in
the decoration is the repetition of the four-headed figure at the
top of every tower, a striking and effective motive, which is
also found above the gates of the town. Chou Ta-kuan says
that there were golden statues of Buddhas at the entrance to
the Bayon. It is impossible to say whether this statement is
accurate or not. He may have simply made a mistake, but it is
equally possible that the fusion of the two creeds may have
ended in images of the Buddha being placed outside the shrine
of the linga.
Strange as it may seem, there is no clear evidence as to the
character of the worship performed in Camboja's greatest
temple, Angkor Wat. Since the prince who commenced it was
known by the posthumous title of Paramavishnuloka, we may
presume that he intended to dedicate it to Vishnu and some
of the sculptures appear to represent Vishnu slaying a demon.
But it was not finished until after his death and his intentions
may not have been respected by his successors. An authoritative
statement1 warns us that it is not safe to say more about the
date of Angkor Wat than that its extreme limits are 1050 and
1170. Jayavarman VII (who came to the throne at about this
latter date) was a Buddhist, and may possibly have used the
great temple for his own worship. The sculptures are hardly
1 M. G. Coed&s in Bull Comm. ArcUol. 1911, p. 220.
xxxvm] CAMBOJA 135
Brahmanic in the theological sense, and those which represent
the pleasures of paradise and the pains of hell recall Buddhist
delineations of the same theme1. The four images of the Buddha
which are now found in the central tower are modern and all
who have seen them will, I think, agree that the figure of the
great teacher which seems so appropriate in the neighbouring
monasteries is strangely out of place in this aerial shrine. But
what the designer of the building intended to place there
remains a mystery. Perhaps an empty throne such as is seen
in the temples of Annam and Bali would have been the best
symbol2.
Though the monuments of Camboja are well preserved the
grey and massive severity which marks them at present is
probably very different from the appearance that they wore
when used for worship. From Chou Ta-kuan and other sources3
we gather that the towers and porches were .gilded, the bas-
reliefs and perhaps the whole surface of the walls were painted,
and the building was ornamented with flags. Music and dances
were performed in the courtyards and, as in many Indian
temples, the intention was to create a scene which by its
animation and brilliancy might amuse the deity and rival the
pleasures of paradise.
It is remarkable that ancient Camboja which has left us so
many monuments, produced no books4. Though the inscriptions
and Chou Ta-kuan testify to the knowledge of literature
(especially religious), both Brahmanic and Buddhist, diffused
among the upper classes, no original works or even adaptations
of Indian originals have come down to us. The length and
1 Although there is no reason why these pictures of the future life should not be
Brahmanic as well as Buddhist, I do not remember having seen them in any purely
Brahmanic temple.
2 After spending some time at Angkor Wat I find it hard to believe the theory
that it was a palace. The King of Camboja was doubtless regarded as a living God,
but so is the Grand Lama, and it does not appear that the Potala where he lives is
anything but a large residential building containing halls and chapels much like
the Vatican. But at Angkor Wat everything leads up to a central shrine. It is
quite probable however that the deity of this shrine was a deified king, identified
with Vishnu after his death. This would account for the remarks of Chou Ta-kuan
who seems to have regarded it as a tomb.
3 See especially the inscription of Bassac. Kern, Annales de r Extreme Orient,
t. in. 1880, p. 65.
4 Pali books are common in monasteries. For the literature of Laos see Finot,
B.E.F.E.O. 1917, No. 5.
136 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH. xxxvm
ambitious character of many inscriptions give an idea of what
the Cambojans could do in the way of writing, but the result is
disappointing. These poems in stone show a knowledge of
Sanskrit, of Indian poetry and theology, which is surprising if
we consider how far from India they were composed, but they
are almost without exception artificial, frigid and devoid of
vigour or inspiration.
CHAPTER XXXIX
CHAMPA1
THE kingdom of Champa, though a considerable power from
about the third century until the end of the fifteenth, has
attracted less attention than Camboja or Java. Its name is a
thing of the past and known only to students: its monuments
are inferior in size and artistic merit to those of the other Hindu
kingdoms in the Far East and perhaps its chief interest is that
it furnishes the oldest Sanskrit inscription yet known from these
regions.
Champa occupied the south-eastern corner of Asia beyond
the Malay Peninsula, if the word corner can be properly applied
to such rounded outlines. Its extent varied at different epochs,
but it may be roughly defined in the language of modern
geography as the southern portion of Annam, comprising the
provinces of Quang-nam in the north and Binh-Thuan in the
south with the intervening country. It was divided into three
provinces, which respectively became the seat of empire at differ
ent periods. They were (i) in the north Amaravati (the modern
Quang-nam) with the towns of Indrapura and Sinhapura;
1 Also spelt Campa and Tchampa. It seems safer to use Ch for C in names
which though of Indian origin are used outside India. The final a though strictly
speaking long is usually written without an accent. The following are the principal
works which I have consulted about Champa.
(a) G. Maspero, Le Royaume de Champa. Published in Toung Poo, 1910-1912.
Cited as Maspero.
(b) A. Bergaigne, " Inscriptions Sanskrites de Champa " in Notices et Extraits
des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nationale, tome xxvn. lre partie. 2e
fascicule, 1893, pp. 181-292. Cited as Corpus, n.
(c) H. Parmentier, Inventaire descriptif des Monuments Cams de V Annam.
1899.
(d) L. Finot, "La Religion des Chams," B.E.F.E.O. 1901, and Notes d'tipi-
graphie. "Les Inscriptions de Mi-son," ib. 1904. Numerous other
papers by this author, Durand, Parmentier and others in the same
periodical can be consulted with advantage.
(e) Id., Notes d'tipigraphie Indo-Chinoise, 1916.
138 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
(ii) in the middle Vijaya (the modern Bing-Dinh) with the
town of Vijaya and the port of Sri- Vinaya ; (iii) in the south
Panduranga or Panran (the modern provinces of Phanrang and
Binh-Thuan) with the town of Virapura or Rajapura. A section
of Panduranga called Kauthara (the modern Kanh hoa) was a
separate province at certain times. Like the modern Annam,
Champa appears to have been mainly a littoral kingdom and not
to have extended far into the mountains of the interior.
Champa was the ancient name of a town in western Bengal
near Bhagalpur, but its application to these regions does not
seem due to any connection with north-eastern India. The
conquerors of the country, who were called Chams, had a
certain amount of Indian culture and considered the classical
name Champa as an elegant expression for the land of the
Chams. Judging by their language these Chams belonged to
the Malay-Polynesian group and their distribution along the
littoral suggests that they were invaders from the sea like the
Malay pirates from whom they themselves subsequently
suffered. The earliest inscription in the Cham language dates
from the beginning of the ninth century but it is preceded by
a long series of Sanskrit inscriptions the oldest of which, that of
Vo-can1, is attributed at latest to the third century, and refers
to an earlier king. It therefore seems probable that the Hindu
dynasty of Champa was founded between 150 and 200 A.D. but
there is no evidence to show whether a Malay race already
settled in Champa was conquered and hinduized by Indian
invaders, or whether the Chams were already hinduized when
they arrived, possibly from Java.
The inferiority of the Chams to the Khmers in civilization
was the result of their more troubled history. Both countries
had to contend against the same difficulty — a powerful and
aggressive neighbour on either side. Camboja between Siam and
Annam in 1800 was in very much the same position as Champa
had been between Camboja and Annam five hundred years
earlier. But between 950 and 1150 A.D. when Champa by no
means enjoyed stability and peace, the history of Camboja, if
not altogether tranquil, at least records several long reigns of
powerful kings who were able to embellish their capital and
assure its security. The Chams were exposed to attacks not only
1 Corpus, n. p. 11, and Finot, Notes d'fipig. pp. 227 ff.
xxxix J CHAMPA 139
from Annam but also from the more formidable if distant
Chinese and their capital, instead of remaining stationary
through several centuries like Angkor Thorn, was frequently
moved as one or other of the three provinces became more
important.
The inscription of Vo-can is in correct Sanskrit prose and
contains a fragmentary address from a king who seems to have
been a Buddhist and writes somewhat in the style of Asoka. He
boasts that he is of the family of Srimararaja. The letters closely
resemble those of Rudradaman's inscription at Girnar and con
temporary inscriptions at Kanheri. The text is much mutilated
so that we know neither the name of the writer nor his relation
ship to Srimara. But the latter was evidently the founder of
the dynasty and may have been separated from his descendant
by several generations. It is noticeable that his name does not
end in Varman, like those of later kings. If he lived at the end
of the second century this would harmonize with the oldest
Chinese notices which fix the rise of Lin-I (their name for
Champa) about 192 A.D.1 Agreeably to this we also hear that
Hun T'ien founded an Indian kingdom in Fu-nan considerably
before 265 A.D. and that some time between 220 and 280 a king
of Fu-nan sent an embassy to India. The name Fu-nan may
include Champa. But though we hear of Hindu kingdoms in
these districts at an early date we know nothing of their
civilization or history, nor do we obtain much information from
those Cham legends which represent the dynasties of Champa
as descended from two clans, those of the cabbage palm
(arequier) and cocoanut.
Chinese sources also state that a king called Fan-yi sent an
embassy to China in 284 and give the names of several kings
who reigned between 336 and 440. One of these, Fan-hu-ta, is
apparently the Bhadravarman who has left some Sanskrit
inscriptions dating from about 400 and who built the first
temple at Mi-so'n. This became the national sanctuary of
Champa: it was burnt down about 575 A.D. but rebuilt.
Bhadravarman's son Gangaraja appears to have abdicated and
to have gone on a pilgrimage to the Ganges2 — another instance
of the intercourse prevailing between these regions and India.
1 See authorities quoted by Maspero, Toung Poo, 1910, p. 329.
2 Finot in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 918 and 922.
E. in. 10
140 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
It would be useless to follow in detail the long chronicle of
the kings of Champa but a few events merit mention. In 446
and again in 605 the Chinese invaded the country and severely
chastised the inhabitants. But the second invasion was followed
by a period of peace and prosperity. Sambhuvarman (f 629)
restored the temples of Mi-so'n and two of his successors, both
called Vikrantavarman, were also great builders. The kings who
reigned from 758 to 859, reckoned as the fifth dynasty, belonged
to the south and had their capital at Virapura. The change seems
to have been important, for the Chinese who had previously
called the country Lin-I, henceforth call it Huan-wang. The
natives continued to use the name Champa but Satyavarman
and the other kings of the dynasty do not mention Mi-so'n
though they adorned and endowed Po-nagar and other sanctuaries
in the south. It was during this period (A.D. 774 and 787) that
the province of Kauthara was invaded by pirates, described as
thin black barbarians and cannibals, and also as the armies of
Java1. They pillaged the temples but were eventually expelled.
They were probably Malays but it is difficult to believe that the
Javanese could be seriously accused of cannibalism at this
period2.
The capital continued to be transferred under subsequent
dynasties. Under the sixth (860-900) it was at Indrapura in the
north: under the seventh (900-986) it returned to the south:
under the eighth (989-1044) it was in Vijaya, the central pro
vince. These internal changes were accompanied by foreign
attacks. The Khmers invaded the southern province in 945. On
the north an Annamite Prince founded the kingdom of Dai-co-
viet, which became a thorn in the side of Champa. In 982 its
armies destroyed Indrapura, and in 1044 they captured Vijaya.
In 1069 King Rudravarman was taken prisoner but was released
in return for the cession of the three northernmost provinces.
Indrapura however was rebuilt and for a time successful wars
were waged against Camboja, but though the kings of Champa
did not acquiesce in the loss of the northern provinces, arid
1 Corpus, ii. Sttle de Po Nagar, pp. 252 ff. and Stile de Yang Tikuh, p. 208, etc.
2 The statements that they came from Java and were cannibals occur in different
inscriptions and may conceivably refer to two bodies of invaders. But the dates
are very near. Probably Java is not the island now so called. See the chapter on
Camboja, sec. 2. The undoubted references in the inscriptions of Champa to the
island of Java call it Yavadvipa.
xxxix] CHAMPA 141
though Harivarman III (1074r-80) was temporarily victorious,
no real progress was made in the contest with Annam, whither
the Chams had to send embassies practically admitting that
they were a vassal state. In the next century further disastrous
quarrels with Camboja ensued and in 1192 Champa was split
into two kingdoms, Vijaya in the north under a Cambojan
prince and Panran in the south governed by a Cham prince but
under the suzerainty of Camboja. This arrangement was not
successful and after much fighting Champa became a Khmer
province though a very unruly one from 1203 till 1220. Subse
quently the aggressive vigour of the Khmers was tempered by
their own wars with Siam. But it was not the fate of Champa
to be left in peace. The invasion of Khubilai lasted from 1278 to
1285 and in 1306 the provinces of 6 and Ly were ceded to Annam.
Champa now became for practical purposes an Annamite
province and in 1318 the king fled to Java for refuge. This
connection with Java is interesting and there are other instances
of it. King Jaya Simhavarman III (f 1307) of Champa married
a Javanese princess called Tapasi. Later we hear in Javanese
records that in the fifteenth century the princess Darawati of
Champa married the king of Madjapahit and her sister married
Raden Radmat, a prominent Moslim teacher in Java1.
The power of the Chams was crushed by Annam in 1470.
After this date they had little political importance but continued
to exist as a nationality under their own rulers. In 1650 they
revolted against Annam without success and the king was
captured. But his widow was accorded a titular position and the
Cham chronicle2 continues the list of nominal kings down to 1822.
In Champa, as in Camboja, no books dating from the Hindu
period have been preserved and probably there were not many.
The Cham language appears not to have been used for literary
purposes and whatever culture existed was exclusively Sanskrit.
The kings are credited with an extensive knowledge of Sanskrit
literature. An inscription at Po-nagar3 (918 A. D.) says that Sri
Indravarman was acquainted with the Mimamsa and other
1 Veth. Java, I. p. 233.
2 See "La Chronique Royale," B.E.F.E.O. 1905, p. 377.
3 Corpus, ii. p. 259. Jinendra may be a name either of the Buddha or of a gram
marian. The mention of the KaSika vritti is important as showing that this work
must be anterior to the ninth century. The Uttara Kalpa is quoted in the Tantras
(see Bergaigne's note), but nothing is known of it.
142 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
systems of philosophy, Jinendra, and grammar together with
the Kasika (vritti) and the Saivottara-Kalpa. Again an inscrip
tion of Mi-son1 ascribes to Jaya Indravarmadeva (c. 1175 A.D.)
proficiency in all the sciences as well as a knowledge of the
Mahayana and the Dharmasastras, particularly the Naradiya
and Bhargaviya. To some extent original compositions in
Sanskrit must have been produced, for several of the inscriptions
are of considerable length and one2 gives a quotation from a
work called the Puranartha or Arthapuranasastra which appears
to have been a chronicle of Champa. But the language of the
inscriptions is often careless and incorrect and indicates that
the study of Sanskrit was less flourishing than in Camboja.
The monuments of Champa, though considerable in size and
number, are inferior to those of Camboja. The individual
buildings are smaller and simpler and the groups into which
they are combined lack unity. Brick was the chief material,
stone being used only when brick would not serve, as for statues
and lintels. The commonest type of edifice is a square pyramidal
structure called by the Chams Kalan. A Kalan is as a rule
erected on a hill or rising ground: its lowest storey has on the
east a porch and vestibule, on the other three sides false doors.
The same shape is repeated in four upper storeys of decreasing
size which however serve merely for external decoration and
correspond to nothing in the interior. This is a single windowless
pyramidal cell lighted by the door and probably also by lamps
placed in niches on the inner walls. In the centre stood a
pedestal for a linga or an image, with a channel to carry off
libations, leading to a spout in the wall. The outline of the tower
is often varied by projecting figures or ornaments, but the
sculpture is less lavish than in Camboja and Java.
In the greater religious sites several structures are grouped
together. A square wall surrounds an enclosure entered by a
gateway and containing one or more Kalans, as well as smaller
buildings, probably for the use of priests. Before the gateway
there is frequently a hall supported by columns but open at the
sides.
1 B.E.F E.O. 1904, p. 973.
2 From Mi-son, date 1157 A.D. See B.E.F. E.O. 1904, pp. 961 and 963.
xxxix] CHAMPA 143
All known specimens of Cham architecture are temples;
palaces and other secular buildings were made of wood and
have disappeared. Of the many sanctuaries which have been
discovered, the most remarkable are those of Mi-son, and Dong
Duong, both in the neighbourhood of Tourane, and Po Nagar
close to Nhatrang.
Mi-son1 is an undulating amphitheatre among mountains and
contains eight or nine groups of temples, founded at different
times. The earliest structures, erected by Bhadravarman I
about 400, have disappeared2 and were probably of wood, since
we hear that they were burnt (apparently by an accident) in
575 A.D. New temples were constructed by Sambhuvarman
about twenty-five years later and were dedicated to Sambhu-
bhadresvara, in which title the names of the founder, restorer
and the deity are combined. These buildings, of which portions
remain, represent the oldest and best period of Cham art.
Another style begins under Vikrantavarman I between 657 and
679 A.D. This reign marks a period of decadence and though
several buildings were erected at Mi-son during the eighth and
ninth centuries, the locality was comparatively neglected3 until
the reign of Harivarman III (1074^1080). The temples had been
ravaged by the Annamites but this king, being a successful
warrior, was able to restore them and dedicated to them the
booty which he had captured. Though his reign marks a period
of temporary prosperity in the annals of Champa, the style
which he inaugurated in architecture has little originality. It
reverts to the ancient forms but shows conscious archaism
rather than fresh vigour. The position of Mi-son, however, did
not decline and about 1155 Jaya Harivarman I repaired the
buildings, dedicated the booty taken in battle and erected a new
temple in fulfilment of a vow. But after this period the princes
of Champa had no authority in the district of Mi-son, and the
Annamites, who seem to have disliked the religion of the Chams,
plundered the temples.
1 = Chinese Mei shan, beautiful mountain. For an account of the temples and
their history see the articles by Parmentier and Finot, B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 805-
977.
2 But contemporary inscriptions have been discovered. B.E.F.E.O. 1902, pp.
185 ff.
3 Doubtless because the capital was transferred to the south where the shrine of
Po-nagar had rival claims.
144 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Ponagar1 is near the port of Nha-trang and overlooks the
sea. Being smaller that Mi-son it has more unity but still shows
little attempt to combine in one architectural whole the buildings
of which it is composed.
An inscription2 states with curious precision that the shrine
was first erected in the year 5911 of the Dvapara age and this
fantastic chronology shows that in our tenth century it was
regarded as ancient. As at Mi-son, the original buildings were
probably of wood for in 774 they were sacked and burnt by
pirates who carried off the image3. Shortly afterwards they
were rebuilt in brick by King Satyavarman and the existing
southern tower probably dates from his reign, but the great
central tower was built by Harivarman I (817 A.D.) and the
other edifices are later.
Po Nagar or Yang Po Nagar means the Lady or Goddess of
the city. She was commonly called Bhagavati in Sanskrit4 and
appears to have been the chief object of worship at Nha-trang,
although Siva was associated with her under the name of
Bhagavatisvara. In 1050 an ardhanari image representing Siva
and Bhagavati combined in one figure was presented to the
temple by King Paramesvara and a dedicatory inscription
describes this double deity as the cosmic principle.
When Champa was finally conquered the temple was sold to
the Annamites, who admitted that they could not acquire it
except by some special and peaceful arrangement. Even now
they still continue the worship of the goddess though they no
longer know who she is5.
Dong Duong, about twenty kilometres to the south of Mi-son,
marks the site of the ancient capital Indrapura. The monument
which has made its name known differs from those already
described. Compared with them it has some pretensions to be
a whole, laid out on a definite plan and it is Buddhist. It
consists of three courts6 surrounded by walls and entered by
massive porticoes. In the third there are about twenty buildings
1 See especially the article by Parmentier, B.E.F.E.O. 1902, pp. 17-54.
3 XXVI Corpus, n. pp. 244, 256; date 918 A.D.
3 &vamukham: probably a mukhalinga.
4 Also Yapunagara even in Sanskrit inscriptions.
6 Parmentier, I.e. p. 49.
6 This is only a very rough description of a rather complicated structure. For
details see Parmentier, Monuments dams, planche XCVHI.
xxxix] CHAMPA 145
and perhaps it did not escape the fault common to Cham
architecture of presenting a collection of disconnected and un
related edifices, but still there is clearly an attempt to lead up
from the outermost portico through halls and gateways to the
principal shrine. From an inscription dated 875 A. D. we learn
that the ruins are those of a temple and vihara erected by King
Indravarman and dedicated to Avalokita under the name of
Lakshmindra Lokesvara.
3
The religion of Champa was practically identical with that
of Camboja. If the inscriptions of the former tell us more about
mukhalingas and koshas and those of the latter have more
allusions to the worship of the compound deity Hari-hara, this
is probably a matter of chance. But even supposing that
different cults were specially prominent at different places, it
seems clear that all the gods and ceremonies known in Camboja
were also known in Champa and vice versa. In both countries
the national religion was Hinduism, mainly of the Sivaite type,
accompanied by Mahayanist Buddhism which occasionally came
to the front under royal patronage. In both any indigenous
beliefs which may have existed did not form a separate system.
It is probable however that the goddess known at Po-nagar as
Bhagavati was an ancient local deity worshipped before the
Hindu immigration and an inscription found at Mi-son recom
mends those whose eyes are diseased to propitiate Kuvera and
thus secure protection against Ekakshapingala, "the tawny
one-eyed (spirit)." Though this goddess or demon was probably
a creation of local fancy, similar identifications of Kali with the
spirits presiding over cholera, smallpox, etc., take place in
India.
The social system was theoretically based on the four castes,
but Chinese accounts indicate that in questions of marriage and
inheritance older ideas connected with matriarchy and a division
into clans still had weight. But the language of the inscriptions
is most orthodox. King Vikrantavarman1 quotes with approval
the saying that the horse sacrifice is the best of good deeds and
the murder of a Brahman the worst of sins. Brahmans, chap
lains (purohita), pandits and ascetics are frequently mentioned
1 Inscrip. at Mi-son of 658 A.D. See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 921.
146 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
as worthy of honour and gifts. The high priest or royal chaplain
is styled Sriparamapurohita but it does not appear that there
was a sacerdotal family enjoying the unique position held by
the Sivakaivalyas in Camboja. The frequent changes of capital
and dynasty in Champa were unfavourable to continuity in
either Church or State.
Sivaism, without any hostility to Vishnuism or Buddhism,
was the dominant creed. The earliest known inscription, that of
Vo-can, contains indications of Buddhism, but three others
believed to date from about 400 A.D. invoke Siva under some
such title as Bhadresvara, indicating that a temple had been
dedicated to him by King Bhadravarman. Thus the practice of
combining the names of a king and his patron deity in one
appellation existed in Champa at this early date1. It is also
recorded from southern India, Camboja and Java. Besides Siva
one of the inscriptions venerates, though in a rather perfunctory
manner, Uma, Brahma, Vishnu and the five elements. Several
inscriptions2 give details of Sivaite theology which agree with
what we know of it in Camboja. The world animate and in
animate is an emanation from Siva, but he delivers from the
world those who think of him. Meditation, the practice of Yoga,
and devotion to Siva are several times mentioned with approval3.
He abides in eight forms corresponding to his eight names
Sarva, Bhava, Pasupati, Isana, Bhima, Rudra, Mahadeva, and
Ugra. He is also, as in Java, Guru or the teacher and he has
the usual mythological epithets. He dances in lonely places, he
rides on the bull Nandi, is the slayer of Kama, etc. Though
represented by figures embodying such legends he was most
commonly adored under the form of the linga which in Champa
more than elsewhere came to be regarded as not merely
symbolic but as a personal god. To mark this individuality it
was commonly enclosed in a metal case (kosha) bearing one or
more human faces4. It was then called mukhalinga and the
1 Other examples are IndrabhadresVara, Corpus, n. p. 208. HarivarmesVara,
B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 961.
3 E.g. B.E.F.E.O. pp. 918 ff. Dates 658 A.D. onwards.
3 Yogaddhyana, Sivaradha, Sivabhakti. See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 933-950.
Harivarman III abdicated in 1080 and gave himself up to contemplation and
devotion to Siva.
4 See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 912 ff. and esp. p. 970. I have seen a kosha which
is still in use in the neighbourhood of Badami. It is kept in a village called Nandike-
xxxixj CHAMPA 147
faces were probably intended as portraits of royal donors,
identified with the god in form as well as in name. An in
scription of 1163A.D. records the dedication of such a kosha,
adorned with five royal faces, to Srisanabhadresvara. The god,
it is said, will now be able to give his blessing to all regions
through his five mouths which he could not do before, and being
enclosed in the kosha, like an embryo in the matrix, he becomes
Hiranyagarbha. The linga, with or without these ornaments,
was set on a sndnadroni or stone table arranged for receiving
libations, and sometimes (as in Java and Camboja) four or more
lingas were set upon a single slab. From A.D. 400 onwards, the
cult of Siva seems to have maintained its paramount position
during the whole history of Champa, for the last recorded
Sanskrit inscription is dedicated to him. From first to last it
was the state religion. Siva is said to have sent Uroja to be the
first king and is even styled the root of the state of Champa.
An inscription1 of 81 1 A.D. celebrates the dual deity Sankara-
Narayana. It is noticeable that Narayana is said to have held
up Mt Govardhana and is apparently identified with Krishna.
Rama and Krishna are both mentioned in an inscription of
1157 which states that the whole divinity of Vishnu was
incarnate in King Jaya Harivarman I2. But neither allusions
to Vishnu nor figures of him3 are numerous and he plays the
part of an accessory though respected personage. Garuda, on
whom he rides, was better known than the god himself and is
frequently represented in sculpture.
The Sakti of Siva, amalgamated as mentioned with a native
goddess, received great honour (especially at Nhatrang) under
the names of Uma, Bhagavati, the Lady of the city (Yang Po
Nagar) and the goddess of Kauthara. In another form or aspect
sVara, but on certain festivals it is put on a linga at the temple of Mahakut.
It is about 2 feet high and 10 inches broad; a silver case with a rounded and orna
mented top. On one side is a single face in bold embossed work and bearing fine
moustaches exactly as in the mukhalingas of Champa. In the tank of the temple of
Mahakut is a half submerged shrine, from which rises a stone linga on which are
carved four faces bearing moustaches. There is said to be a gold kosha set with
jewels at Sringeri. See J. Mythic. Society (Bangalore), vol. vm. p. 27. According to
Gopinatha Rao, Indian Iconography, vol. n. p. 63, the oldest known lingas have
figures carved on them.
1 Corpus, n. pp. 229, 230.
2 B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 959, 960.
8 See for an account of same B.E.F.E.O. 1901, p. 18.
148 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
she was called Maladakuthara1. There was also a temple of
Ganesa (Sri-Vinayaka) at Nhatrang but statues of this deity
and of Skanda are rare.
The Chinese pilgrim I-Ching, writing in the last year of the
seventh century, includes Champa (Lin-I) in the list of countries
which "greatly reverence the three jewels" and contrasts it
with Fu-nan where a wicked king had recently almost exter
minated Buddhism. He says "In this country Buddhists
generally belong to the Arya-sammiti school, and there are also
a few followers of the Aryasarvastivadin school." The statement
is remarkable, for he also tells us that the Sarvastivadins were
the predominant sect in the Malay Archipelago and flourished
in southern China. The headquarters of the Sammitiyas were,
according to the accounts of both Hsiian Chuang and I-Ching,
in western India though, like the three other schools, they were
also found in Magadha and eastern India. We also hear that
the brother and sister of the Emperor Harsha belonged to this
sect and it was probably influential. How it spread to Champa
we do not know, nor do the inscriptions mention its name or
indicate that the Buddhism which they knew was anything but
the mixture of the Mahayana with Sivaism2 which prevailed in
Camboja.
I-Ching's statements can hardly be interpreted to mean that
Buddhism was the official religion of Champa at any rate after
400 A.D., for the inscriptions abundantly prove that the Sivaite
shrines of Mi-son and Po-nagar were so to speak national
cathedrals where the kings worshipped on behalf of the country.
But the Vo-can inscription (? 250 A.D.), though it does not
mention Buddhism, appears to be Buddhist, and it would be
quite natural that a dynasty founded about 150 A.D. should be
Buddhist but that intercourse with Camboja and probably with
India should strengthen Sivaism. The Chinese annals mention3
that 1350 Buddhist books were carried off during a Chinese
invasion in 605 A.D. and this allusion implies the existence of
Buddhism and monasteries with libraries. As hi Camboja it was
1 Corpus, n. p. 282.
2 In several passages Hsiian Chuang notes that there were PaSupatas or other
Sivaites in the same towns of India where Sammitiyas were found. See Watters,
Yuan Chwang, i. 331, 333; n. 47, 242, 256, 258, 259.
3 Maspero, T&ung Poo, 1910, p. 514.
xxxix] CHAMPA 149
perhaps followed by ministers rather than by kings. An
inscription found1 in southern Champa and dated as 829 A.D.
records how a sthavira named Buddhanirvana erected two
viharas and two temples (devakula) to Jina and Sankara
(Buddha and Siva) in honour of his deceased father. Shortly
afterwards there came to the throne Indravarman II (860-890
A.D.), the only king of Champa who is known to have been a
fervent Buddhist. He did not fail to honour Siva as the patron
of his kingdom but like Asoka he was an enthusiast for the
Dharma2. He desires the knowledge of the Dharma: he builds
monasteries for the sake of the Dharma : he wishes to propagate
it: he even says that the king of the gods governs heaven by
the principles of Dharma. He wishes to lead all his subjects to
the "yoke and abode of Buddha," to "the city of deliverance."
To this end he founded the vihara of Dong Duong, already
described, and dedicated it to Sri Lakshmindra Lokesvara3.
This last word is a synonym of Avalokita, which also occurs
in the dedicatory inscription but in a fragmentary passage.
Lakshmindra is explained by other passages in the inscription
from which we learn that the king's name before he ascended
the throne was Lakshmindra Bhumisvara, so that the Bodhi-
sattva is here adored under the name of the king who erected
the vihara according to the custom prevalent in Sivaite temples.
Like those temples this vihara received an endowment of land and
slaves of both sexes, as well as gold, silver and other metals4.
A king who reigned from 1080 to 1086 was called Parama-
bodhisattva, but no further epigraphic records of Buddhism are
known until the reigns of Jaya Indravarmadeva (1167-1192)
and his successor Suryavarmadeva6. Both of these monarchs,
while worshipping Siva, are described as knowing or practising
the jnana or dharma of the Mahay ana. Little emphasis seems
to be laid on these expressions but still they imply that the
1 At Yang Kur. See Corpus, u. pp. 237-241.
2 For his views see his inscriptions in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 85 ff. But kings who
are not known to have been Buddhists also speak of Dharma. B.E.F.E.O. 1904,
pp. 922, 945.
3 Apparently special forms of deities such as J§ri6anabhadresVara or Lakshminda
LokesVara were regarded as to some extent separate existences. Thus the former
is called a portion of Siva, B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 973.
* Presumably in the form of vessels.
* B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 973-975.
150 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH. xxxix
Mahayana was respected and considered part of the royal
religion. Suryavarmadeva erected a building called Sri Heruka-
harmya1. The title is interesting for it contains the name of the
Tantric Buddha Heruka.
The grotto of Phong-nha2 in the extreme north of Champa
(province of Quang Binh) must have been a Buddhist shrine.
Numerous medallions in clay bearing representations of Buddhas,
Bodhisattvas and Dagobas have been found there but dates are
wanting.
It does not appear that the Hinayanist influence which
became predominant in Camboja extended to Champa. That
influence came from Siam and before it had time to traverse
Camboja, Champa was already in the grip of the Annamites,
whose religion with the rest of their civilization came from China
rather than India. Chinese culture and writing spread to the
Cambojan frontier and after the decay of Champa, Camboja
marks the permanent limit within which an Indian alphabet
and a form of Buddhism not derived through China have
maintained themselves.
A large number of the Chams were converted to Moham
medanism but the time and circumstances of the event are
unknown. When Friar Gabriel visited the country at the end
of the sixteenth century a form of Hinduism seems to have been
still prevalent3. It would be of interest to know how the change
of religion was effected, for history repeats itself and it is likely
that the Moslims arrived in Champa by the route followed
centuries before by the Hindu invaders.
There are still about 130,000 Chams in the south of Annam
and Camboja. In the latter country they are all Mohammedans.
In Annam some traces of Hinduism remain, such as mantras in
broken Sanskrit and hereditary priests called Basaih. Both
religions have become unusually corrupt but are interesting as
showing how beliefs which are radically distinct become dis
torted and combined in Eastern Asia4.
1 B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 975.
2 76. 1901, p. 23, and Parmentier, Inventaire des Monuments Chams, p. 542.
3 Gabriel de San Antonio, Breve y verdadera relation de los successes de Reyno de
Camboxa, 1604.
4 See for the modern Chams the article "Chams" in E.R.E. and Ethics, and
Durand, "Les Chains Bani," B.E.F.E.O. 1903, and "Notes sur les Chams," ib.
1905-7.
CHAPTER XL
JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO
IN most of the countries which we have been considering, the
native civilization of the present day is still Indian in origin,
although in the former territories of Champa this Indian phase
has been superseded by Chinese culture with a little Moham
medanism. But in another area we find three successive stages
of culture, indigenous, Indian and Mohammedan. This area
includes the Malay Peninsula with a large part of the Malay
Archipelago, and the earliest stratum with which we need con
cern ourselves is Malay. The people who bear this name are
remarkable for their extraordinary powers of migration by sea,
as shown by the fact that languages connected with Malay
are spoken in Formosa and New Zealand, in Easter Island and
Madagascar, but their originality both in thought and in the
arts of life is small. The three stages are seen most clearly
in Java where the population was receptive and the interior
accessible. Sumatra and Borneo also passed through them in
a fashion but the indigenous element is still predominant and
no foreign influence has been able to affect either island as a
whole. Islam gained no footing in Bali which remains curiously
Hindu but it reached Celebes and the southern Philippines, in
both of which Indian influence was slight1. The destiny of south
eastern Asia with its islands depends on the fact that the tide
of trade and conquest whether Hindu, Moslim or European,
flowed from India or Ceylon to the Malay Peninsula and Java
and thence northwards towards China with a reflux westwards in
Champa and Camboja. Burma and Siam lay outside this track.
They received their culture from India mainly by land and were
untouched by Mohammedanism. But the Mohammedan current
1 I have not been able to find anything more than casual and second-hand
statements to the effect that Indian antiquities have been found in these islands.
152 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
which affected the Malays was old and continuous. It started
from Arabia in the early days of the Hijra and had nothing to
do with the Moslim invasions which entered India by land.
Indian civilization appears to have existed in Java from at
least the fifth century of our era1. Much light has been thrown
on its history of late by the examination of inscriptions and of
fairly ancient literature but the record still remains fragmentary.
There are considerable gaps : the seat of power shifted from one
district to another and at most epochs the whole island was not
subject to one ruler, so that the title king of Java merely
indicates a prince pre-eminent among others doubtfully sub
ordinate to him.
The name Java is probably the Sanskrit Yava used in the
sense of grain, especially millet. In the Ramayana2 the monkeys
of Hanuman are bidden to seek for Sita in various places in
cluding Yava-dvipa, which contains seven kingdoms and pro
duces gold and silver. Others translate these last words as
referring to another or two other islands known as Gold and
Silver Land. It is probable that the poet did not distinguish
clearly between Java and Sumatra. He goes on to say that
beyond Java is the peak called Sisira. This is possibly the same
as the Yavakoti mentioned in 499 A.D. by the Indian astronomer
Aryabhatta.
1 There is no lack of scholarly and scientific works about Java, but they are
mostly written in Dutch and dissertations on special points are more numerous
than general surveys of Javanese history, literature and architecture. Perhaps the
best general account of the Hindu period in Java will be found in the chapter con
tributed by Kern to the publication called Neerlands Indie (Amsterdam, 1911,
chap. vi. n. pp. 219-242). The abundant publications of the Bataviaasch Genoot-
schap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen comprise Verhandelingen, Notulen, and the
Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land-, en Volkenkunde (cited here as Tijdschrift),
all of which contain numerous and important articles on history, philology, religion
and archaeology. The last is treated specially in the publications called Archaeo-
logisch Onderzoek op Java en Madura. Veth's Java, vols. I. and iv. and various
articles in the Encyclopaedic van Nederlandsch-Indie may also be consulted. I have
endeavoured to mention the more important editions of Javanese books as well as
works dealing specially with the old religion in the notes to these chapters.
Although Dutch orthography is neither convenient nor familiar to most readers
I have thought it better to preserve it in transcribing Javanese. In this system of
transcription j-=y; tj =ch; dj =j; sj =sh; w=v; oe = u.
2 Ram. iv. 40, 30. Yavadvipam saptarajyopasobhitam Suvarnarupyakadvipam
suvarnakaramanditam.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 153
Since the Ramayana is a product of gradual growth it is
not easy to assign a definite date to this passage, but it is
probably not later than the first or second century A.D. and an
early date is rendered probable by the fact that the Alexandrian
Geographer Ptolemy (c. 130 A.D.) mentions1 N^crc? 'laftaSiov rj
'ZajSaSiov and by various notices collected from inscriptions and
from Chinese historians. The annals of the Liang Dynasty
(502-556 A.D.) in speaking of the countries of the Southern
Ocean say that in the reign of Hsiian Ti (73-49 B.C.) the
Romans and Indians sent envoys to China by that route2, thus
indicating that the Archipelago was frequented by Hindus. The
same work describes under the name of Lang-ya-hsiu a country
which professed Buddhism and used the Sanskrit language and
states that "the people say that their country was established
more than 400 years ago3." Lang-ya-hsiu has been located by
some in Java by others in the Malay Peninsula, but even on the
latter supposition this testimony to Indian influence in the Far
East is still important. An inscription found at Kedah in the
Malay Peninsula is believed to be older than 400 A.D.4 No
more definite accounts are forthcoming before the fifth or sixth
century. Fa-Hsien5 relates how in 418 he returned to China
from India by sea and "arrived at a country called Ya-va-di."
"In this country" he says "heretics and Brahmans flourish but
the law of Buddha hardly deserves mentioning6." Three in
scriptions found in west Java in the district of Buitenzorg are
referred for palseographic reasons to about 400 A.D. They are
all in Sanskrit and eulogize a prince named Purnavarman, who
appears to have been a Vishnuite. The name of his capital is
1 Ptolemy's Geography, vn. 2. 29 (see also vm. 27, 10). 'lafiadlov (T) Z
6 o"r)/j.alvei Kpidrjs, vrjffos. Ei)0opwrdr77 de X^-yercu 17 vfjffo? elvai Ka.1 £n TT\€L<
TroietJ', ZX€LV T€ wrpbiroKtv OVO/J.CL 'A.pyvprjv £TTL rois Si'tr/xi/tots Trtpaatv.
2 The Milinda Panha of doubtful but not very late date also mentions voyages
to China.
3 Groeneveldt, Notes on the Malay Archipelago compiled from Chinese sources,
1876 (cited below as Groeneveldt), p. 10. Confirmed by the statement in the Ming
annals book 324 that in 1432 the Javanese said their kingdom had been founded
1376 years before.
4 Kern in Versl. en Med. K. Ak. v. W. Afd. Lett. 3 Rks. i. 1884, pp. 5-12.
6 Chap. XL. Legge, p. 113, and Groeneveldt, pp. 6-9.
8 He perhaps landed in the present district of Rembang "where according to
native tradition the first Hindu settlement was situated at that time" (Groeneveldt,
p. 9).
154 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
deciphered as Naruma or Taruma. In 435 according to the Liu
Sung annals1 a king of Ja-va-da named Shih-li-pa-da-do-a-la-pa-
mo sent tribute to China. The king's name probably represents
a Sanskrit title beginning with Sri-Pada and it is noticeable that
two footprints are carved on the stones which bear Purnavarman's
inscriptions. Also Sanskrit inscriptions found at Koetei on the
east coast of Borneo and considered to be not later than the
fifth century record the piety and gifts to Brahmans of a King
Mulavarman and mention his father and grandfather2.
It follows from these somewhat disjointed facts that the
name of Yava-dvipa was known in India soon after the Christian
era, and that by the fifth century Hindu or hinduized states
had been established in Java. The discovery of early Sanskrit
inscriptions in Borneo and Champa confirms the presence of
Hindus in these seas. The T'ang annals3 speak definitely of
Kaling, otherwise called Java, as lying between Sumatra and
Bali and say that the inhabitants have letters and under
stand a little astronomy. They further mention the presence of
Arabs and say that in 674 a queen named Sima ascended the
throne and ruled justly.
But the certain data for Javanese history before the eighth
century are few. For that period we have some evidence from
Java itself. An inscription dated 654 Saka (= 732 A. D.) dis
covered in Kedoe celebrates the praises of a king named
Sanjaya, son of King Sanna. It contains an account of the
dedication of a linga, invocations of Siva, Brahma and Vishnu,
a eulogy of the king's virtue and learning, and praise of Java.
Thus about 700 A.D. there was a Hindu kingdom in mid Java
and this, it would seem, was then the part of the island most
important politically. Buddhist inscriptions of a somewhat later
date (one is of 778 A.D.) have been found in the neighbourhood
of Prambanam. They are written in the Nagari alphabet and
record various pious foundations. A little later again (809 and
840 A.D.) are the inscriptions found on the Dieng (Dihyang), a
1 Groeneveldt, p. 9. The transcriptions of Chinese characters given in the follow
ing pages do not represent the modern sound but seem justified (though they cannot
be regarded as certain) by the instances collected in Julien's Methode pour dechijfrer
et transcrire les noms sanscrits. Possibly the syllables Do-a-lo-pa-mo are partly
corrupt and somehow or other represent Purnavarman.
2 Kern in Versl. en Meded. Afd. Lett. 2 R. xi. D. 1882.
3 Groeneveldt, pp. 12, 13.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 155
lonely mountain plateau on which are several Brahmanic
shrines in fair preservation. There is no record of their builders
but the NewT'ang Annals say that the royal residence was called
Java but "on the mountains is the district Lang-pi-ya where
the king frequently goes to look at the sea1." This may possibly
be a reference to pilgrimages to Dieng. The inscriptions found
on the great monument of Boroboedoer throw no light on the
circumstances of its foundation, but the character of the writing
makes it likely that it was erected about 850 and obviously by
a king who could command the services of numerous workmen
as well as of skilled artists. The temples of Prambanam are
probably to be assigned to the next century. All these buildings
indicate the existence from the eighth to the tenth century of
a considerable kingdom (or perhaps kingdoms) in middle Java,
comprising at least the regions of Mataram, Kedoe and the
Dieng plateau. From the Arabic geographers also we learn that
Java was powerful in the ninth century and attacked Qamar
(probably Khmer or Camboja). They place the capital at the
mouth of a river, perhaps the Solo or Brantas. If so, there
must have been a principality in east Java at this period. This
is not improbable for archaeological evidence indicates that
Hindu civilization moved eastwards and flourished first in the
west, then in mid Java and finally from the ninth to the fifteenth
centuries in the east.
The evidence at our disposal points to the fact that Java
received most of its civilization from Hindu colonists, but who
were these colonists and from what part of India did they come ?
We must not think of any sudden and definite conquest, but
rather of a continuous current of immigration starting perhaps
from several springs and often merely trickling, but occasionally
swelling into a flood. Native traditions collected by Raffles2
ascribe the introduction of Brahmanism and the Saka era to
the sage Tritresta and represent the invaders as coming from
Kalinga or from Gujarat.
The difference of locality may be due to the fact that there
was a trade route running from Broach to Masulipatam through
Tagara (now Ter). People arriving in the Far East by this route
might be described as coming either from Kalinga, where they
1 Groeneveldt, p. 14.
a History of Java, vol. II. chap. x.
£. III.
1 1
156 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
embarked, or from Gujarat, their country of origin. Dubious
as is the authority of these legends, they perhaps preserve the
facts in outline. The earliest Javanese inscriptions are written
in a variety of the Vengi script and the T'ang annals call the
island Kaling as well as Java. It is therefore probable that
early tradition represented Kalinga as the home of the Hindu
invaders. But later immigrants may have come from other
parts. Fa-Hsien could find no Buddhists in Java in 418, but
Indian forms of Mahayanism indubitably flourished there in
later centuries. The Kalasan inscription dated 778 A.D. and
engraved in Nagari characters records the erection of a temple
to Tara and of a Mahayanist monastery. The change in both
alphabet and religion suggests the arrival of new influences from
another district and the Javanese traditions about Gujarat are
said to find an echo among the bards of western India and in
such proverbs as, they who go to Java come not back1. In the
period of the Hunnish and Arab invasions there may have been
many motives for emigration from Gujarat. The land route to
Kalinga was probably open and the sea route offers no great
difficulties2.
Another indication of connection with north-western India
is found in the Chinese work Kao Seng Chuan (5 19 A.D.) or
Biographies of Eminent Monks, if the country there called
She-p'o can be identified with Java3. It is related that Guna-
varman, son of the king of Kashmir, became a monk and,
declining the throne, went first to Ceylon and then to the
kingdom of She-p'o, which he converted to Buddhism. He died
at Nanking in 431 B.C.
Taranatha4 states that Indo-China which he calls the Koki
country5, was first evangelized in the time of Asoka and that
1 Jackson, Java and Cambodja. App. IV. in Bombay Gazetteer, vol. i. part 1, 1896.
2 It is also possible that when the Javanese traditions speak of Kaling they
mean the Malay Peninsula. Indians in those regions were commonly known as
Kaling because they came from Kalinga and in time the parts of the Peninsula
where they were numerous were also called Kaling.
3 See for this question Pelliot in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 274 ff. Also Schlegel in
Toung Pao, 1899, p. 247, and Chavannes, ib. 1904, p. 192.
4 Chap, xxxix. Schiefner, p. 262.
6 Though he expressly includes Camboja and Champa in Koki, it is only right
to say that he mentions Nas-gling ( = Yava-dvipa) separately in another enumeration
together with Ceylon. But if Buddhists passed in any numbers from India to Camboja
and vice versa, they probably appeared in Java about the same time, or rather later.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 157
Mahayanism was introduced there by the disciples of Vasu-
bandhu, who probably died about 360 A. D., so that the activity of
his followers would take place in the fifth century. He also says
that many clergy from the Koki country were in Madhyadesa
from the time of Dharmapala (about 800 A.D.) onwards, and
these two statements, if they can be accepted, certainly explain
the character of Javanese and Cambojan Buddhism. Taranatha
is a confused and untrustworthy writer, but his statement about
the disciples of Vasubandhu is confirmed by the fact that
Dignaga, who was one of them, is the only authority cited in
the Kamahayanikan1.
The fact that the terms connected with rice cultivation are
Javanese and not loan-words indicates that the island had some
indigenous civilization when the Hindus first settled there.
Doubtless they often came with military strength, but on the
whole as colonists and teachers rather than as conquerors. The
Javanese kings of whom we know most appear to have been
not members of Hindu dynasties but native princes who had
adopted Hindu culture and religion. Sanskrit did not oust
Javanese as the language of epigraphy, poetry and even religious
literature. Javanese Buddhism appears to have preserved its
powers of growth and to have developed some special doctrines.
But Indian influence penetrated almost all institutions and is
visible even to-day. Its existence is still testified to by the
alphabet in use, by such titles as Arjo, Radja, Praboe, Dipati
(= adhipati), and by various superstitions about lucky days and
horoscopes. Communal land tenure of the Indian kind still
exists and in former times grants of land were given to priests
and, as in India, recorded on copper plates. Offerings to old
statues are still made and the Tenggerese2 are not even nominal
Mohammedans. The Balinese still profess a species of Hinduism
and employ a Hindu Calendar.
From the tenth century onwards the history of Java becomes
a little plainer.
Copper plates dating from about 900 A.D. mention Mataram.
A certain Mpoe Sindok was vizier of this kingdom in 919, but
ten years later we find him an independent king in east Java.
1 See Kamaha. pp. 9, 10, and Walters, Yuan Chwang, n. pp. 209-214.
2 They preserve to some extent the old civilization of Madjapahit. See the
article "Tengereezen" in Encyclopaedic van Nederlandsch-Indie.
158 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
He lived at least twenty-five years longer and his possessions
included Pasoeroean, Soerabaja and Kediri. His great-grandson,
Er-langga (or Langghya), is an important figure. Er-langga's
early life was involved in war, but in 1032 he was able to call
himself, though perhaps not with great correctness, king of all
Java. His memory has not endured among the Javanese but is
still honoured in the traditions of Bali and Javanese literature
began in his reign or a little earlier. The poem Arjuna-vivaha is
dedicated to him, and one book of the old Javanese prose
translation of the Mahabharata bears a date equivalent to
996 A.D.1
One of the national heroes of Java is Djajabaja2 who is
supposed to have lived in the ninth century. But tradition
must be wrong here, for the free poetic rendering of part of the
Mahabharata called Bharata-Yuddha, composed by Mpoe Sedah
in 1157 A.D., is dedicated to him, and his reign must therefore
be placed later than the traditional date. He is said to have
founded the kingdom of Daha in Kediri, but his inscriptions
merely indicate that he was a worshipper of Vishnu. Literature
and art flourished in east Java at this period for it would seem
that the Kawi Ramayana and an ars poetica called Vritta-
sancaya3 were written about 1150 and that the temple of
Panataran was built between 1150 and 1175.
In western Java we have an inscription of 1030 found on
the river Tjitjatih. It mentions a prince who is styled Lord of
the World and native tradition, confirmed by inscriptions,
which however give few details, relates that in the twelfth
century a kingdom called Padjadjaran was founded in the
Soenda country south of Batavia by princes from Toemapel in
eastern Java.
There is a gap in Javanese history from the reign of Djajabaja
till 1222 at which date the Pararaton4, or Book of the Kings of
Toemapel and Madjapahit, begins to furnish information. The
Sung annals5 also give some account of the island but it is not
1 See Kern, Kaivi-studien Arjuna-vivdJia, 1. and u. 1871. Juynboll, Drie Boeken
van het oudjavaansche Mahdbhdrata, 1893, and id. Wirdtaparwwa, 1912. This last is
dated Saka 918 =996 A.D.
a Or Jayabaya.
8 See Rdmdyana. Oudjavaansche Heldendicht, edited Kern, 1900, and Wrtta
Sancaya, edited and translated by the same, 1875.
4 Composed in 1613 A.D. 6 Groeneveldt, p. 14.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 159
clear to what years their description refers. They imply, however,
that there was an organized government and that commerce
was flourishing. They also state that the inhabitants "pray to
the gods and Buddha": that Java was at war with eastern
Sumatra: that embassies were sent to China in 992 and 1109
and that in 1129 the Emperor gave the ruler of Java (probably
Djajabaja) the title of king.
The Pararaton opens with the fall of Daha in 1222 which
made Toemapel, known later as Singasari, the principal kingdom.
Five of its kings are enumerated, of whom Vishnuvardhana was
buried in the celebrated shrine of Tjandi Djago, where he was
represented in the guise of Buddha. His successor Sri Rajasa-
nagara was praised by the poet Prapantja2 as a zealous Buddhist
but was known by the posthumous name of Sivabuddha. He
was the first to use the name of Singasari and perhaps founded
a new city, but the kingdom of Toemapel came to an end in his
reign for he was slain by Djaja Katong2, prince of Daha, who
restored to that kingdom its previous primacy, but only for a
short time, since it was soon supplanted by Madjapahit. The
foundation of this state is connected with a Chinese invasion of
Java, related at some length in the Yuan annals3, so that we
are fortunate in possessing a double and fairly consistent account
of what occurred.
We learn from these sources that some time after Khubilai
Khan had conquered China, he sent missions to neighbouring
countries to demand tribute. The Javanese had generally
accorded a satisfactory reception to Chinese missions, but on
this occasion the king (apparently Djaja Katong) maltreated
the envoy and sent him back with his face cut or tattooed.
Khubilai could not brook this outrage and in 1292 despatched
a punitive expedition. At that time Raden Vidjaja, the son-
in-law of Kertanagara, had not submitted to Djaja Katong and
held out at Madjapahit, a stronghold which he had founded
near the river Brantas. He offered his services to the Chinese
and after a two months' campaign Daha was captured and
Djaja Katong killed. Raden Vidjaja now found that he no longer
1 In the work commonly called " Nagarakretagama " (ed. Brandes, Verhand.
Bataav. Genoolschap. LIV. 1902), but it is stated that its real name is " De9awarn-
nana." See Tijdschrift, LVI. 1914, p. 194.
3 Or Jayakatong. 3 Groeneveldt, pp. 20-34.
160 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
needed his Chinese allies. He treacherously massacred some
and prepared to fight the rest. But the Mongol generals, seeing
the difficulties of campaigning in an unknown country without
guides, prudently returned to their master and reported that
they had taken Daha and killed the insolent king.
Madjapahit (or Wilwatikta) now became the premier state
of Java, and had some permanency. Eleven sovereigns, in
cluding three queens, are enumerated by the Pararaton until
its collapse in 1468. We learn from the Ming annals and other
Chinese documents1 that it had considerable commercial
relations with China and sent frequent missions: also that
Palembang was a vassal of Java. But the general impression
left by the Pararaton is that during the greater part of its
existence Madjapahit was a distracted and troubled kingdom.
In 1403, as we know from both Chinese and Javanese sources,
there began a great war between the western and eastern
kingdoms, that is between Madjapahit and Balambangan in the
extreme east, and in the fifteenth century there was twice an
interregnum. Art and literature, though not dead, declined and
events were clearly tending towards a break-up or revolution.
This appears to have been consummated in 1468, when the
Pararaton simply says that King Pandansalas III left the
Kraton, or royal residence.
It is curious that the native traditions as to the date and
circumstances in which Madjapahit fell should be so vague, but
perhaps the end of Hindu rule in Java was less sudden and
dramatic than we are inclined to think. Islam had been making
gradual progress and its last opponents were kings only in title.
The Chinese mention the presence of Arabs in the seventh
century, and the geography called Ying-yai Sheng-lan (published
in 1416), which mentions Grisse, Soerabaja and Madjapahit as
the principal towns of Java, divides the inhabitants into three
classes: (a) Mohammedans who have come from the west, "their
dress and food is clean and proper"; (6) the Chinese, who are
also cleanly and many of whom are Mohammedans; (c) the
natives who are ugly and uncouth, devil-worshippers, filthy in
food and habits. As the Chinese do not generally speak so
severely of the hinduized Javanese it would appear that
Hinduism lasted longest among the lower and more savage
1 Groeneveldt, pp. 34-53.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 161
classes, and that the Moslims stood on a higher level. As in
other countries, the Arabs attempted to spread Islam from the
time of their first appearance. At first they confined their
propaganda to their native wives and dependents. Later we
hear of veritable apostles of Islam such as Malik Ibrahim, and
Raden Rahmat, the ruler of a town called Ampel1 which became
the head quarter of Islam. The princes whose territory lay
round Madjapahit were gradually converted and the extinction
of the last Hindu kingdom became inevitable2.
It is remarkable that the great island of Sumatra, which
seems to lie in the way of anyone proceeding from India east
wards and is close to the Malay peninsula, should in all ages
have proved less accessible to invaders coming from the west
than the more distant Java. Neither Hindus, Arabs nor
Europeans have been able to establish their influence there in
the same thorough manner. The cause is probably to be found
in its unhealthy and impenetrable jungles, but even so its
relative isolation remains singular.
It does not appear that any prince ever claimed to be king
of all Sumatra. For the Hindu period we have no indigenous
literature and our scanty knowledge is derived from a few statues
and inscriptions and from notices in Chinese writings. The
latter do not refer to the island as a whole but to several states
such as Indragiri near the Equator and Kandali (afterwards
called San-bo-tsai, the Sabaza of the Arabs) near Palembang.
The annals of the Liang dynasty say that the customs of
Kandali were much the same as those of Camboja and appar
ently we are to understand that the country was Buddhist, for
one king visited the Emperor Wu-ti in a dream, and his son
addressed a letter to His Majesty eulogizing his devotion to
Buddhism. Kandali is said to have sent three envoys to China
between 454 and 519.
1 Near Soerabaja. It is said that he married a daughter of the king of Champa,
and that the king of Madjapahit married her sister. For the connection between
the royal families of Java and Champa at this period see Maspero in T'oung Pao,
1911, pp. 595 ff., and the references to Champa in Nagarakretagama, 15, 1, and 83, 4.
2 See Raffles, chap, x, for Javanese traditions respecting the decline and fall of
Madjapahit.
162 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
The Chinese pilgrim I-Ching1 visited Sumatra twice, once
for two months in 672 and subsequently for some years (about
688-695). He tells us that in the islands of the Southern Sea,
"which are more than ten countries," Buddhism flourishes, the
school almost universally followed being the Mulasarvastivada,
though the Sammitiyas and other schools have a few adherents.
He calls the country where he sojourned and to which these state
ments primarily refer, Bhoja or Sribhoja (Fo-shih or Shih-li-fo-
shih), adding that its former name was Malay u. It is conjectured
that Shih-li-fo-shih is the place later known as San-bo-tsai2 and
Chinese authors seem to consider that both this place and the
earlier Kandali were roughly speaking identical with Palembang.
I-Ching tells us that the king of Bhoja favoured Buddhism and
that there were more than a thousand priests in the city. Gold
was abundant and golden flowers were offered to the Buddha.
There was communication by ship with both India and China.
The Hinayana, he says, was the form of Buddhism adopted
"except in Malayu, where there are a few who belong to the
Mahayana." This is a surprising statement, but it is impossible
to suppose that an expert like I-Ching can have been wrong
about what he actually saw in Sribhoja. So far as his remarks
apply to Java they must be based on hearsay and have less
authority, but the sculptures of Boroboedoer appear to show
the influence of Mulasarvastivadin literature. It must be
remembered that this school, though nominally belonging to
the Hinayana, came to be something very different from the
Theravada of Ceylon.
The Sung annals and subsequent Chinese writers know the
same district (the modern Palembang) as San-bo-tsai (which may
indicate either mere change of name or the rise of a new city)
and say that it sent twenty-one envoys between 960 and 1178.
The real object of these missions was to foster trade and there
was evidently frequent intercourse between eastern Sumatra,
Champa and China. Ultimately the Chinese seem to have
thought that the entertainment of Sumatran diplomatists cost
more than they were worth, for in 1178 the emperor ordered
that they should not come to Court but present themselves in
1 See Takakusu, A record of the Buddhist religion, especially pp. xl to xlvi.
2 In another pronunciation the characters are read San-fo-chai. The meaning
appears to be The Three Buddhas.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 163
the province of Fu-kien. The Annals state that Sanskrit writing
was in use at San-bo-tsai and lead us to suppose that the
country was Buddhist. They mention several kings whose
names or titles seem to begin with the Sanskrit word Sri1. In
1003 the envoys reported that a Buddhist temple had been
erected in honour of the emperor and they received a present
of bells for it. Another envoy asked for dresses to be worn by
Buddhist monks. The Ming annals also record missions from
San-bo-tsai up to 1376, shortly after which the region was
conquered by Java and the town decayed2. In the fourteenth
century Chinese writers begin to speak of Su-men-ta-la or
Sumatra by which is meant not the whole island but a state in
the northern part of it called Samudra and corresponding to
Atjeh3. It had relations with China and the manners and
customs of its inhabitants are said to be the same as in Malacca,
which probably means that they were Moslims.
Little light is thrown on the history of Sumatra by indi
genous or Javanese monuments. Those found testify, as might
be expected, to the existence here and there of both Brahman-
ism and Buddhism. In 1343 a Sumatran prince named Aditya-
varman, who was apparently a vassal of Madjapahit, erected an
image of Manjusri at Tjandi Djago and in 1375 one of
Amoghapasa.
4
The Liang and T'ang annals both speak of a country called
Po-li, described as an island lying to the south-east of Canton.
Groeneveldt identified it with Sumatra, but the account of its
position suggests that it is rather to be found in Borneo, parts
of which were undoubtedly known to the Chinese as Po-lo and
Pu-ni4. The Liang annals state that Po-li sent an embassy to
the Emperor Wu-ti in 518 bearing a letter which described the
1 E.g. Si-li-ma-ha-la-sha (=Srimaharaja) Si-li-tieli-hwa (perhaps = £rideva).
2 The conquest however was incomplete and about 1400 a Chinese adventurer
ruled there some time. The name was changed to Ku-Kang, which is said to be
still the Chinese name for Palembang.
3 The Ming annals expressly state that the name was changed to Atjeh about
1600.
4 For the identification of Po-li see Groeneveldt, p. 80, and Hose and McDougall,
Pagan Tribes of Borneo, chap. n. It might be identified with Bali, but it is doubtful
if Hindu civilization had spread to that island or even to east Java in the sixth
century.
164 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
country as devoted to Buddhism and frequented by students
of the three vehicles. If the letter is an authentic document the
statements in it may still be exaggerations, for the piety of
Wu-ti was well known and it is clear that foreign princes who
addressed him thought it prudent to represent themselves and
their subjects as fervent Buddhists. But there certainly was a
Hindu period in Borneo, of which some tradition remains among
the natives1, although it ended earlier and left fewer permanent
traces than in Java and elsewhere.
The most important records of this period are three Sanskrit
inscriptions found at Koetei on the east coast of Borneo2. They
record the donations made to Brahmans by King Mulavarman,
son of Asvavarman and grandson of Kundagga. They are not
dated, but Kern considers for pala^ographical reasons that they
are not later than the fifth century. Thus, since three genera
tions are mentioned, it is probable that about 400 A.D. there
were Hindu princes in Borneo. The inscriptions testify to the
existence of Hinduism there rather than of Buddhism: in fact
the statements in the Chinese annals are the only evidence for
the latter. But it is most interesting to find that these annals
give the family name of the king of Poli as Kaundinya3 which
no doubt corresponds to the Kundagga of the Koetei inscription.
At least one if not two of the Hindu invaders of Camboja bore
this name, and we can hardly be wrong in supposing that
members of the same great family became princes in different
parts of the Far East. One explanation of their presence in
Borneo would be that they went thither from Camboja, but we
have no record of expeditions from Camboja and if adventurers
started thence it is not clear why they went to the east coast of
Borneo. It would be less strange if Kaundinyas emigrating from
Java reached both Camboja and Koetei. It is noticeable that
in Java, Koetei, Champa and Camboja alike royal names end
in van nan.
1 See Hose and McDougall, I.e. p. 12.
2 See Kern, "Over de Opschriften uit Koetei" in Verslagen Meded. Afd. Lett. 2
R. xi. D. Another inscription apparently written in debased Indian characters
but not yet deciphered has been found in Sanggau, south-west Borneo.
3 Groeneveldt, p. 81. The characters may be read Kau-di-nya according to
Julien's method. The reference is to Liang annals, book 54.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 165
5
The architectural monuments of Java are remarkable for
their size, their number and their beauty. Geographically they
fall into two chief groups, the central (Boroboedoer, Prambanan,
Dieng plateau, etc.) in or near the kingdom of Mataram and
the eastern (Tjandi Djago, Singasari, Panataran, etc.) lying not
at the extremity of the island but chiefly to the south of
Soerabaja. No relic of antiquity deserving to be called a monu
ment has been found in western Java for the records left by
Purnavarman (c. 400 A.D.) are merely rocks bearing inscriptions
and two footprints, as a sign that the monarch's triumphal
progress is compared to the three steps of Vishnu.
The earliest dated (779 A.D.) monument in mid Java, Tjandi
Kalasan, is Buddhist and lies in the plain of Prambanan. It is
dedicated to Tara and is of a type common both in Java and
Champa, namely a chapel surmounted by a tower. In connec
tion with it was erected the neighbouring building called Tjandi
Sari, a two-storied monastery for Mahay anist monks. Not far
distant is Tjandi Sevu, which superficially resembles the 450
Pagodas of Mandalay, for it consists of a central cruciform shrine
surrounded by about 240 smaller separate chapels, every one of
which, apparently, contained the statue of a Dhyani Buddha.
Other Buddhist buildings in the same region are Tjandi Plaosan,
and the beautiful chapel known as Tjandi Mendut in which are
gigantic seated images of the Buddha, Manjusri and Avalokita.
The face of the last named is perhaps the most exquisite piece
of work ever wrought by the chisel of a Buddhist artist.
It is not far from Mendut to Boroboedoer, which deserves
to be included in any list of the wonders of the world. This
celebrated stupa — for in essence it is a highly ornamented stupa
with galleries of sculpture rising one above the other on its
sides — has been often described and can be described intelligibly
only at considerable length. I will therefore not attempt to
detail or criticize its beauties but will merely state some points
which are important for our purpose.
It is generally agreed that it must have been built about
850 A.D., but obviously the construction lasted a considerable
time and there are indications that the architects altered their
original plan. The unknown founder must have been a powerful
166 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
and prosperous king for no one else could have commanded the
necessary labour. The stupa shows no sign of Brahmanic
influence. It is purely Buddhist and built for purposes of
edification. The worshippers performed pradakshina by walking
round the galleries, one after the other, and as they did so had
an opportunity of inspecting some 2000 reliefs depicting the
previous births of Sakyamuni, his life on earth and finally the
mysteries of Mahayanist theology. As in Indian pilgrim cities,
temple guides were probably ready to explain the pictures.
The selection of reliefs is not due to the artists' fancy but
aims at illustrating certain works. Thus the scenes of the
Buddha's life reproduce in stone the story of the Lalita Vistara1
and the Jataka pictures are based on the Divyavadana. It is
interesting to find that both these works are connected with
the school of the Mulasarvastivadins, which according to I-Ching
was the form of Buddhism prevalent in the archipelago. In the
third gallery the figure of Maitreya is prominent and often seems
to be explaining something to a personage who accompanies him.
As Maitreya is said to have revealed five important scriptures
to Asariga, and as there is a tradition that the east of Asia was
evangelized by the disciples of Asariga or Vasubandhu, it is
possible that the delivery and progress of Maitreya's revelation
is here depicted. The fourth gallery seems to deal with the five
superhuman Buddhas2, their paradises and other supra-mundane
matters, but the key to this series of sculptures has not yet been
found. It is probable that the highest storey proved to be too
heavy in its original form and that the central dagoba had to
be reduced lest it should break the substructure. But it is not
known what image or relic was preserved in this dagoba. Possibly
it was dedicated to Vairocana who was regarded as the Supreme
Being and All-God by some Javanese Buddhists3.
The creed here depicted in stone seems to be a form of
1 See Pleyte, Die Buddhalegende in den Sculpturen von Borobudur. But he
points out that the version of the Lalita Vistara followed by the artist is not quite
the same as the one that we possess.
2 Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, Akshobhya, Vairocana, some
times called Dhyani Buddhas, but it does not seem that this name was in common
use in Java or elsewhere. The Kamahayanikan calls them the Five Tathagatas.
3 So in the Kunjarakarna, for which see below. The Kamahayanikan teaches
an elaborate system of Buddha emanations but for purposes of worship it is not
quite clear which should be adored as the highest.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 167
Mahayanism. Sakyamuni is abundantly honoured but there is
no representation of his death. This may be because the Lalita
Vistara treats only of his early career, but still the omission is
noteworthy. In spite of the importance of Sakyamuni, a con
siderable if mysterious part is played by the five superhuman
Buddhas, and several Bodhisattvas, especially Maitreya, Avalo-
kita and Manjusri. In the celestial scenes we find numerous
Bodhisattvas both male and female, yet the figures are hardly
Tantric and there is no sign that any of the personages are
Brahmanic deities.
Yet the region was not wholly Buddhist. Not far from
Boroboedoer and apparently of about the same age is the
Sivaite temple of Banon, and the great temple group of Pram-
banam is close to Kalasan and to the other Buddhist shrines
mentioned above. It consists of eight temples of which four are
dedicated to Brahma, Siva, Vishnu and Nandi respectively, the
purpose of the others being uncertain. The largest and most
decorated is that dedicated to Siva, containing four shrines in
which are images of the god as Mahadeva and as Guru, of
Ganesa and of Durga. The balustrade is ornamented with a
series of reliefs illustrating the Ramayana. These temples, which
appear to be entirely Brahmanic, approach in style the archi
tecture of eastern Java and probably date from the tenth
century, that is about a century later than the Buddhist
monuments. But there is no tradition or other evidence of a
religious revolution.
The temples on the Dieng plateau are also purely Brahmanic
and probably older, for though we have no record of their
foundation, an inscribed stone dated 800 A.D. has been found
in this district. The plateau which is 6500 feet high was
approached by paved roads or flights of stairs on one of which
about 4000 steps still remain. Originally there seem to have
been about 40 buildings on the plateau but of these only eight
now exist besides several stone foundations which supported
wooden structures. The place may have been a temple city
analogous to Girnar or Satrunjaya, but it appears to have been
deserted in the thirteenth century, perhaps in consequence of
volcanic activity. The Dieng temples are named after the heroes
of the Mahabharata (Tjandi Ardjuno, Tjandi Bimo, etc.), but
these appear to be late designations. They are rectangular tower-
168 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
like shrines with porches and a single cellule within. Figures of
Brahma, Siva and Vishnu have been discovered, as well as
spouts to carry off the libation water.
Before leaving mid Java I should perhaps mention the
relatively modern (1435-1440 A.D.) temples of Suku. I have not
seen these buildings, but they are said to be coarse in execution
and to indicate that they were used by a debased sect of
Vishnuites. Their interest lies in the extraordinary resemblance
which they bear to the temples of Mexico and Yucatan, a
resemblance "which no one can fail to observe, though no one
has yet suggested any hypothesis to account for it1."
The best known and probably the most important monu
ments of eastern Java are Panataran, Tjandi Djago and Tjandi
Singasari2.
The first is considered to date from about 1150 A.D. It is
practically a three-storied pyramid with a flat top. The sides
of the lowest storey are ornamented with a series of reliefs
illustrating portions of the Ramayana, local legends and perhaps
the exploits of Krishna, but this last point is doubtful3. This
temple seems to indicate the same stage of belief as Prambanam.
It shows no trace of Buddhism and though Siva was probably
the principal deity, the scenes represented in its sculptures are
chiefly Vishnuite.
Tjandi Djago is in the province .of Pasoeroean. According
to the Pararaton and the Nagarakretagama4, Vishnuvardhana,
king of Toemapel, was buried there. As he died in 1272 or 1273
A.D. and the temple was already in existence, we may infer that
it dates from at least 1250. He was represented there in the
form of Sugata (that is the Buddha) and at Waleri in the form
of Siva. Here we have the custom known also in Champa and
Camboja of a deceased king being represented by a statue with
his own features but the attributes of his tutelary deity. It is
strange that a king named after Vishnu should be portrayed in
the guise of Siva and Buddha. But in spite of this impartiality,
the cult practised at Tjandi Djago seems to have been not a
mixture but Buddhism of a late Mahay anist type. It was
1 Fergusson, History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, ed. 1910, vol. n. p. 439.
2 See Archaeologisch Onderzoek op Java en Madura, I. "Tjandi Djago," 1904;
II. "Tj. Singasari en Panataran," 1909.
8 See Knebel in Tijds. voor Indische T., L. en Volkenkunde, 41, 1909, p. 27.
4 See passages quoted in Archaeol. Onderzoek, I. pp. 96-97.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 169
doubtless held that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are identical
with Brahmanic deities, but the fairly numerous pantheon
discovered in or near the ruins consists of superhuman Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas with their spouses1.
In form Tjandi Djago has somewhat the appearance of a
three-storied pyramid but the steps leading up to the top
platform are at one end only and the shrine instead of standing
in the centre of the platform is at the end opposite to the stairs.
The figures in the reliefs are curiously square and clumsy and
recall those of Central America.
Tjandi Singasari, also in the province of Pasoeroean, is of a
different form. It is erected on a single low platform and con
sists of a plain rectangular building surmounted by five towers
such as are also found in Cambojan temples. There is every
reason to believe that it was erected in 1278A.D. in the reign
of Kretanagara, the last king of Toemapel, and that it is the
temple known as Siva-buddhalaya in which he was commemor
ated under the name of Siva-buddha. An inscription found
close by relates that in 1351 A. D. a shrine was erected on behalf
of the royal family in memory of those who died with the king2.
The Nagarakretagama represents this king as a devout
Buddhist but his Very title Sivabuddha shows how completely
Sivaism and Buddhism were fused in his religion. The same
work mentions a temple in which the lower storey was dedicated
to Siva and the upper to Akshobhya : it also leads us to suppose
that the king was honoured as an incarnation of Akshobhya
even during his life and was consecrated as a Jina under the
name of Srijnanabajresvara3. The Singasari temple is less
ornamented with reliefs than the others described but has
furnished numerous statues of excellent workmanship which
illustrate the fusion of the Buddhist and Sivaite pantheons.
On the one side we have Prajnaparamita, Manjusri and Tara,
on the other Ganesa, the Linga, Siva in various forms (Guru,
Nandisvara, Mahakala, etc.), Durga and Brahma. Not only is
1 Hayagriva however may be regarded as a Brahmanic god adopted by the
Buddhists.
2 See for reasons and references Archaeol. Onderzoek, 11. pp. 36-40. The principal
members of the king's household probably committed suicide during the funeral
ceremonies.
3 Kern in Tijds. voor T., L. en Volkenkunde, Deel LIT. 1910, p. 107. Similarly in
Burma Alompra was popularly regarded as a Bodhisattva.
170 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
the Sivaite element predominant but the Buddhist figures are
concerned less with the veneration of the Buddha than with
accessory mythology.
Javanese architecture and sculpture are no doubt derived
from India, but the imported style, whatever it may have been,
was modified by local influences and it seems impossible at
present to determine whether its origin should be sought on the
eastern or western side of India. The theory that the temples
on the Dieng plateau are Chalukyan buildings appears to be
abandoned but they and many others in Java show a striking
resemblance to the shrines found in Champa. Javanese archi
tecture is remarkable for the complete absence not only of
radiating arches but of pillars, and consequently of large halls.
This feature is no doubt due to the ever present danger of
earthquakes. Many reliefs, particularly those of Panataran,
show the influence of a style which is not Indian and may be
termed, though not very correctly, Polynesian. The great merit
of Javanese sculpture lies in the refinement and beauty of the
faces. Among figures executed in India it would be hard to find
anything equal in purity and delicacy to the Avalokita of
Mendut, the Manjusri now in the Berlin Museum or the Prajfia-
paramita now at Ley den.
6
From the eleventh century until the end of the Hindu period
Java can show a considerable body of literature, wliich is in
part theological. It is unfortunate that no books dating from
an earlier epoch should be extant. The sculptures of Prambanam
and Boroboedoer clearly presuppose an acquaintance with the
Ramayana, the Lalita Vistara and other Buddhist works but,
as in Camboja, this literature was probably known only in the
original Sanskrit and only to the learned. But it is not unlikely
that the Javanese adaptations of the Indian epics which have
come down to us were preceded by earlier attempts which have
disappeared.
The old literary language of Java is commonly known as
Basa Kawi or Kawi, that is the language of poetry1. It is
1 Sanskrit Kavi, a poet. See for Javanese literature Van der Tuuk in J.R.A.S.
xui. 1881, p. 42, and Hinloopen Labberton, ib. 1913, p. 1. Also the article "Lit-
teratuur" in the Encyc. van Nederlandach- Indie, and many notices in the writings of
Kern and Veth.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 171
however simply the predecessor of modern Javanese and many
authorities prefer to describe the language of the island as Old
Javanese before the Madjapahit period, Middle- Javanese dur
ing that period and New Javanese after the fall of Madjapahit.
The greater part of this literature consists of free versions of
Sanskrit works or of a substratum in Sanskrit accompanied by
a Javanese explanation. Only a few Javanese works are original,
that is to say not obviously inspired by an Indian prototype,
but on the other hand nearly all of them handle their materials
with freedom and adapt rather than translate what they borrow.
One of the earliest works preserved appears to be the Tantoe
Panggelaran, a treatise on cosmology in which Indian and native
ideas are combined. It is supposed to have been written about
1000 A.D. Before the foundation of Madjapahit Javanese litera
ture flourished especially in the reigns of Erlangga and Djajabaja,
that is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries respectively. About
the time of Erlangga were produced the old prose version of
the Mahabharata, in which certain episodes of that poem are
rendered with great freedom and the poem called Arjunavivaha,
or the marriage of Arjuna.
The Bharatayuddha1, which states that it was composed by
Mpoe Sedah in 1157 by order of Djajabaja, prince of Kediri, is,
even more than the prose version mentioned above, a free
rendering of parts of the Mahabharata. It is perhaps based on
an older translation preserved in Bali2. The Kawi Ramayana
was in the opinion of Kern composed about 1200 A.D. It follows
in essentials the story of the Ramayana, but it was apparently
composed by a poet unacquainted with Sanskrit who drew his
knowledge from some native source now unknown3. He appears
to have been a Sivaite. To the eleventh century are also referred
the Smaradahana and the treatise on prosody called Vritta-
sancaya. All this literature is based upon classical Sanskrit
models and is not distinctly Buddhist although the prose
version of the Mahabharata states that it was written for
Brahmans, Sivaites and Buddhists4. Many other translations
1 Edited by Gunning, 1903.
2 A fragment of it is printed in Notulen. Batav. Gen. LII. 1914, 108.
8 Episodes of the Indian epics have also been used as the subjects of Javanese
dramas. See Juynboll, Indonesische en achterindische tooneelvoorstellingen uit het
Rdmdyana, and Hinloopen Labberton, Pepakem Sapanti Sakoentala, 1912.
4 Juynboll, Drie Boeken van het Oudjavaansche MaMbhdrata, p. 28.
E. in. 12
172 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
or adaptations of Sanskrit work are mentioned, such as the
Nitisastra, the Sarasamuccaya, the Tantri (in several editions),
a prose translation of the Brahmandapurana, together with
grammars and dictionaries. The absence of dates makes it
difficult to use these works for the history of Javanese thought.
But it seems clear that during the Madjapahit epoch, or perhaps
even before it, a strong current of Buddhism permeated Javanese
literature, somewhat in contrast with the tone of the works
hitherto cited. Brandes states that the Sutasoma, Vighnotsava,
Kunjarakarna, Sang Hyang Kamahayanikan, and Buddha-
pamutus are purely Buddhist works and that the Tjantakaparva,
Arjunavijaya, Nagarakretagama, Wariga and Bubukshah show
striking traces of Buddhism1. Some of these works are inacces
sible to me but two of them deserve examination, the Sang
Hyang Kamahayanikan2 and the story of Kunjarakarna3. The
first is tentatively assigned to the Madjapahit epoch or earlier,
the second with the same caution to the eleventh century.
I do not presume to criticize these dates which depend partly on
linguistic considerations. The Kamahayanikan is a treatise (or
perhaps extracts from treatises) on Mahayanism as understood in
Java and presumably on the normal form of Mahayanism. The
other work is an edifying legend including an exposition of the
faith by no one less than the Buddha Vairocana. In essentials
it agrees with the Kamahayanikan but in details it shows either
sectarian influence or the idiosyncrasies of the author.
The Kamahayanikan consists of Sanskrit verses explained
by a commentary in old Javanese and is partly in the form of
questions and answers. The only authority whom it cites is
Dignaga. It professes to teach the Mahayana and Mantrayana,
which is apparently a misspelling for Mantrayana. The emphasis
laid on Bajra (that is vajra or dorje), ghanta, mudra, mandala,
mystic syllables, and Devis marks it as an offshoot of Tantrism
and it offers many parallels to Nepalese literature. On the other
hand it is curious that it uses the form Nibana not Nirvana4. Its
1 Archaeol. OnderzoeJc, I. p. 98. This statement is abundantly confirmed by
Krom's index of the proper names in the Nagarakretagama in Tijdschrift, LVI. 1914,
pp. 495 ff.
2 Edited with transl. and notes by J. Kat, 's Gravenhage, 1910.
8 Edited with transl. by H. Kern in Verh. der K. Akademie van Wetenschappen
te Amsterdam. Afd. Lett. N.R. 111. 3. 1901.
4 But this probably represents nizbana and is not a Pali form. Cf. Bajra, Bayu
for Vajra, Vayu.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 173
object is to teach a neophyte, who has to receive initiation, how
to become a Buddha1. In the second part the pupil is addressed
as Jinaputra, that is son of the Buddha or one of the household
of faith. He is to be moderate but not ascetic in food and
clothing : he is not to cleave to the Puranas and Tantras but to
practise the Paramitas. These are defined first as six2 and then
four others are added3. Under Prajnaparamita is given a some
what obscure account of the doctrine of Sunyata. Then follows
the exposition of Paramaguhya (the highest secret) and Maha-
guhya (the great secret). The latter is defined as being Yoga, the
bhavanas, the four noble truths and the ten paramitas. The
former explains the embodiment of Bhatara Visesha, that is to
say the way in which Buddhas, gods and the world of pheno
mena are evolved from a primordial principle, called Advaya
and apparently equivalent to the Nepalese Adibuddha4. Advaya
is the father of Buddha and Advayajnana, also called Bharali
Prajnaparamita, is his mother, but the Buddha principle at this
stage is also called Divarupa. In the next stage this Divarupa
takes form as Sakyamuni, who is regarded as a superhuman
form of Buddhahood rather than as a human teacher, for he
produces from his right and left side respectively Lokesvara and
Bajrapani. These beings produce, the first Akshobhya and
Ratnasambhava, the second Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi, but
Vairocana springs directly from the face of Sakyamuni. The five
superhuman Buddhas are thus accounted for. From Vairocana
spring Isvara (Siva), Brahma, and Vishnu: from them the
elements, the human body and the whole world. A considerable
part of the treatise is occupied with connecting these various
emanations of the Advaya with mystic syllables and in showing
how the five Buddhas correspond to the different skandas,
elements, senses, etc. Finally we are told that there are five
Devis, or female counterparts corresponding in the same order
to the Buddhas named above and called Locana, Mamaki,
Pandaravasmi, Tara and Dhatvisvari. But it is declared that
1 Adyabhishiktayushmanta, p. 30. Praptam buddhatvam bhavadbhir, ib. and
Esha marga varah sriraan mahayana mahodayah Yena yuyam gamishyanto bhavish-
yatha Tathagatah.
2 Dana, Sila, kshanti, virya, dhyana, prajna.
3 Maitri, karuna, mudita, upeksha.
4 The Karandavyuha teaches a somewhat similar doctrine of creative emana
tions. Avalokita, Brahma, Siva, Vishnu and others all are evolved from the original
Buddha spirit and proceed to evolve the world.
174 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
the first and last of these are the same and therefore there are
really only four Devis.
The legend of Kunjarakarna relates how a devout Yaksha
of that name went to Bodhicitta1 and asked of Vairocana
instruction in the holy law and more especially as to the mysteries
of rebirth. Vairocana did not refuse but bade his would-be pupil
first visit the realms of Yama, god of the dead. Kunjarakarna
did so, saw the punishments of the underworld, including the
torments prepared for a friend of his, whom he was able to warn
on his return. Yama gave him some explanations respecting
the alternation of life and death and he was subsequently
privileged to receive a brief but more general exposition of
doctrine from Vairocana himself.
This doctrine is essentially a variety of Indian pantheism
but peculiar in its terminology inasmuch as Vairocana, like
Krishna in the Bhagavadgita, proclaims himself to be the All-
God and not merely the chief of the five Buddhas. He quotes
with approval the saying "you are I: I am you" and affirms
the identity of Buddhism and Sivaism. Among the monks2
there are no muktas (i.e. none who have attained liberation)
because they all consider as two what is really one. "The
Buddhists say, we are Bauddhas, for the Lord Buddha is our
highest deity : we are not the same as the Sivaites, for the Lord
Siva is for them the highest deity." The Sivaites are represented
as saying that the five Kusikas are a development or incarna
tions of the five Buddhas. "Well, my son" is the conclusion,
"These are all one: we are Siva, we are Buddha."
In this curious exposition the author seems to imply that
his doctrine is different from that of ordinary Buddhists, and to
reprimand them more decidedly than Sivaites. He several times
uses the phrase Namo Bhatdra, namah tSivdya (Hail, Lord : hail
to Siva) yet he can hardly be said to favour the Sivaites on the
whole, for his All-God is Vairocana who once (but only once)
receives the title of Buddha. The doctrine attributed to the
Sivaites that the five Kusikas are identical with the superhuman
Buddhas remains obscure3. These five personages are said to be
often mentioned in old Javanese literature but to be variously
1 The use of this word, as a name for the residence of Vairocana, seems to be
peculiar to our author.
2 This term may include 6ivaite ascetics as well as Buddhist monks.
3 See further discussion in Kern's edition, p. 16.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 175
enumerated1. They are identified with the five Indras, but
these again are said to be the five senses (indriyas). Hence
we can find a parallel to this doctrine in the teaching of the
Kamahayanikan that the five Buddhas correspond to the five
senses.
Two other special theses are enounced in the story of
Kunjarakarna. The first is Vairocana's analysis of a human
being, which makes it consist of five Atmans or souls, called
respectively Atman, Cetanatman, Paratman, Niratman and
Antaratman, which somehow correspond to the five elements,
five senses and five Skandhas. The singular list suggests that
the author was imperfectly acquainted with the meaning of the
Sanskrit words employed and the whole terminology is strange
in a Buddhist writer. Still in the later Upanishads2 the epithet
pancatmaka is applied to the human body, especially in the
Garbha Upanishad which, like the passage here under considera
tion, gives a psychophysiological explanation of the develop
ment of an embryo into a human being.
The second thesis is put in the mouth of Yama. He states
that when a being has finished his term in purgatory he returns
to life in this world first as a worm or insect, then successively
as a higher animal and a human being, first diseased or maimed
and finally perfect. No parallel has yet been quoted to this
account of metempsychosis.
Thus the Kunjarakarna contains peculiar views which are
probably sectarian or individual. On the other hand their
apparent singularity may be due to our small knowledge of old
Javanese literature. Though other writings are not known to
extol Vairocana as being Siva and Buddha in one, yet they have
no scruple in identifying Buddhist and Brahmanic deities or
connecting them by some system of emanations, as we have
already seen in the Kamahayanikan. Such an identity is still
more definitely proclaimed in the old Javanese version of the
Sutasoma Jataka3. It is called Purushada-Santa and was
1 A8 are the Panchpirs in modern India.
2 Garbha. Up. 1 and 3, especially the phrase asmin pancatmake sarire. Pinda
Up. 2. Bhinne pancatmake dehe. Maha Nar. Up. 23. Sa va esha purushah pan-
cadha pancatma.
8 See Kern, "Over de Vermenging van Civaisme en Buddhisme op Java" in
Vers. en Meded. der Kan. Akad. van Wet. Afd. Lett. 3 R. 5 Deel, 1888.
For the Sutasomajataka see Speyer's translation of the Jatakamala, pp. 291-313,
with his notes and references. It is No. 537 in the Pali Collection of Jatakas.
176 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
composed by Tantular who lived at Madjapahit in the reign of
Rajasanagara (1350-1389 A.D.). In the Indian original Sutasoma
is one of the previous births of Gotama. But the Javanese
writer describes him as an Avatara of the Buddha who is
Brahma, Vishnu and Isvara, and he states that "The Lord
Buddha is not different from Siva the king of the gods.... They
are distinct and they are one. In the Law is no dualism." The
superhuman Buddhas are identified with various Hindu gods
and also with the five senses. Thus Amitabha is Mahadeva and
Amoghasiddhi is Vishnu. This is only a slight variation of the
teaching in the Kamahayanikan. There Brahmanic deities
emanate from Sakyamuni through various Bodhisattvas and
Buddhas: here the Buddha spirit is regarded as equivalent to
the Hindu Trimurti and the various aspects of this spirit can
be described in either Brahmanic or Buddhistic terminology
though in reality all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and gods are one.
But like the other authors quoted, Tantular appears to lean to
the Buddhist side of these equations, especially for didactic
purposes. For instance he says that meditation should be
guided "by Lokesvara's word and Sakyamuni's spirit."
Thus it will be seen that if we take Javanese epigraphy,
monuments and literature together with Chinese notices, they
to some extent confirm one another and enable us to form an
outline picture, though with many gaps, of the history of
thought and religion in the island. Fa-Hsien tells us that in
418A.D. Brahmanism flourished (as is testified by the inscrip
tions of Purnavarman) but that the Buddhists were not worth
mentioning. Immediately afterwards, probably in 423, Guna-
varman is said to have converted She-po, if that be Java, to
Buddhism, and as he came from Kashmir he was probably a
Sarvastivadin. Other monks are mentioned as having visited
the southern seas1. About 690 I-Ching says that Buddhism of
the Mulasarvastivadin school was flourishing in Sumatra, which
he visited, and in the other islands of the Archipelago. The
remarkable series of Buddhist monuments in mid Java ex-
1 See Nanjio Cat. Nos. 137, 138.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 177
tending from about 779 to 900 A.D. confirms his statement. But
two questions arise. Firstly, is there any explanation of this
sudden efflorescence of Buddhism in the Archipelago, and next,
what was its doctrinal character? If, as Taranatha says, the
disciples of Vasubandhu evangelized the countries of the East,
their influence might well have been productive about the time
of I-Ching's visit. But in any case during the sixth and seventh
centuries religious travellers must have been continually
journeying between India and China, in both directions, and
some of them must have landed in the Archipelago. At the
beginning of the sixth century Buddhism was not yet decadent
in India and was all the fashion in China. It is not therefore
surprising if it was planted in the islands lying on the route.
It may be, as indicated above, that some specially powerful
body of Hindus coming from the region of Gujarat and professing
Buddhism founded in Java a new state.
As to the character of this early Javanese Buddhism we have
the testimony of I-Ching that it was of the Mulasarvastivadin
school and Hinayanist. He wrote of what he had seen in
Sumatra but of what he knew only by hearsay in Java and his
statement offers some difficulties. Probably Hinayanism was
introduced by Gunavarman but was superseded by other
teachings which were imported from time to time after they had
won for themselves a position in India. For the temple of
Kalasan (A.D. 779) is dedicated to Tara and the inscription
found there speaks of the Mahay ana with veneration. The later
Buddhism of Java has literary records which, so far as I know,
are unreservedly Mahay anist but probably the sculptures of
Boroboedoer are the most definite expression which we shall
ever have of its earlier phases. Since they contain images of the
five superhuman Buddhas and of numerous Bodhisattvas, they
can hardly be called anything but Mahayanist. But on the
other hand the personality of Sakyamuni is emphasized ; his life
and previous births are pictured in a long series of sculptures
and Maitreya is duly honoured. Similar collections of pictures
and images may be seen in Burma which differ doctrinally from
those in Java chiefly by substituting the four human Buddhas1
and Maitreya for the superhuman Buddhas. But Mahayanist
teaching declares that these human Buddhas are reflexes of
1 Gotama, Kassapa, Konagamana and Kakusandha.
178 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
counterparts of the superhuman Buddhas so that the difference
is not great.
Mahay anist Buddhism in Camboja and at a later period in
Java itself was inextricably combined with Hinduism, Buddha
being either directly identified with Siva or regarded as the
primordial spirit from which Siva and all gods spring. But the
sculptures of Boroboedoer do not indicate that the artists knew
of any such amalgamation nor have inscriptions been found
there, as in Camboja, which explain this compound theology.
It would seem that Buddhism and Brahmanism co-existed in
the same districts but had not yet begun to fuse doctrinally.
The same condition seems to have prevailed in western India
during the seventh and eighth centuries, for the Buddhist caves
of Ellora, though situated in the neighbourhood of Brahmanic
buildings and approximating to them in style, contain sculptures
which indicate a purely Buddhist cultus and not a mixed
pantheon.
Our meagre knowledge of Javanese history makes it difficult
to estimate the spheres and relative strength of the two religions.
In the plains the Buddhist monuments are more numerous and
also more ancient and we might suppose that the temples of
Prambanan indicate the beginning of some change in belief.
But the temples on the Dieng plateau seem to be of about the
same age as the oldest Buddhist monuments. Thus nothing
refutes the supposition that Brahmanism existed in Java from
the time of the first Hindu colonists and that Buddhism was
introduced after 400 A.D. It may be that Boroboedoer and the
Dieng plateau represent the religious centres of two different
kingdoms. But this supposition is not necessary for in India,
whence the Javanese received their ideas, groups of temples are
found of the same age but belonging to different sects. Thus in
the Khajraho group1 some shrines are Jain and of the rest some
are dedicated to Siva and some to Vishnu.
The earliest records of Javanese Brahmanism, the inscrip
tions of Purnavarman, are Vishnuite but the Brahmanism which
prevailed in the eighth and ninth centuries was in the main
Sivaite, though not of a strongly sectarian type. Brahma,
Vishnu and Siva were all worshipped both at Prambanan and
on the Dieng but Siva together with Ganesa, Durga, and Nandi
1 About 950-1050 A.D. Fergusson, Hist, of Indian Architecture, n. p. 141.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 179
is evidently the chief deity. An image of Siva in the form of
Bhatara Guru or Mahaguru is installed in one of the shrines at
Prambanan. This deity is characteristic of Javanese Hinduism
and apparently peculiar to it. He is represented as an elderly
bearded man wearing a richly ornamented costume. There is
something in the pose and drapery which recalls Chinese art
and I think the figure is due to Chinese influence, for at the
present day many of the images found in the temples of Bali
are clearly imitated from Chinese models (or perhaps made by
Chinese artists) and this may have happened in earlier times.
The Chinese annals record several instances of religious objects
being presented by the Emperors to Javanese princes. Though
Bhatara Guru is only an aspect of Siva he is a sufficiently distinct
personality to have a shrine of his own like Ganesa and Durga,
in temples where the principal image of Siva is of another kind.
The same type of Brahmanism lasted at least until the
erection of Panataran (c. 1150). The temple appears to have
been dedicated to Siva but like Prambanan it is ornamented
with scenes from the Ramayana and from Vishnuite Puranas1.
The literature which can be definitely assigned to the reigns of
Djajabaja and Erlangga is Brahmanic in tone but both literature
and monuments indicate that somewhat later there was a re
vival of Buddhism. Something similar appears to have happened
in other countries. In Camboja the inscriptions of Jayavarman
VII (c. 1185 A.D.) are more definitely Buddhist than those of
his predecessors and in 1296 Chou Ta-kuan regarded the country
as mainly Buddhist. Parakrama Bahu of Ceylon (1153-1186)
was zealous for the faith and so were several kings of Siam. I am
inclined to think that this movement was a consequence of the
flourishing condition of Buddhism at Pagan in Burma from
1050 to 1250. Pagan certainly stimulated religion in both Siam
and Ceylon and Siam reacted strongly on Camboja2. It is true
that the later Buddhism of Java was by no means of the
Siamese type, but probably the idea was current that the great
kings of the world were pious Buddhists and consequently in
1 Sec Knebel, "Recherches preparatoires concernant Krishna et lea bas reliefs
des temples de Java" in Tijdschrift, LI. 1909, pp. 97-174.
2 In Camboja the result seems to have been double. Pali Buddhism entered
from Siam and ultimately conquered all other forms of religion, but for some time
Mahay anist Buddhism, which was older in Camboja, revived and received Court
patronage.
180 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
most countries the local form of Buddhism, whatever it was,
began to be held in esteem. Java had constant communication
with Camboja and Champa and a king of Madjapahit married
a princess of the latter country. It is also possible that a direct
stimulus may have been received from India, for the statement
of Taranatha1 that when Bihar was sacked by the Moham
medans the Buddhist teachers fled to other regions and that
some of them went to Camboja is not improbable.
But though the prestige of Buddhism increased in the
thirteenth century, no rupture with Brahmanism took place and
Pali Buddhism does not appear to have entered Java. The unity
of the two religions is proclaimed: Buddha and Siva are one.
But the Kamahayanikan while admitting the Trimurti makes
it a derivative, and not even a primary derivative, of the
original Buddha spirit. It has been stated that the religion of
Java in the Madjapahit epoch was Sivaism with a little Buddhism
thrown in, on the understanding that it was merely another
method of formulating the same doctrine. It is very likely that
the bulk of the population worshipped Hindu deities, for they
are the gods of this world and dispense its good things. Yet the
natives still speak of the old religion as Buddhagama; the old
times are "Buddha times" and even the flights of stairs leading
up to the Dieng plateau are called Buddha steps. This would
hardly be so if in the Madjapahit epoch Buddha had not seemed
to be the most striking figure in the non-Mohammedan religion.
Also, the majority of religious works which have survived from
this period are Buddhist. It is true that we have the Ramayana,
the Bharata Yuddha and many other specimens of Brahmanic
literature. But these, especially in their Javanese dress, are
belles lettres rather than theology, whereas Kamahayanikan and
Kunjarakarna are dogmatic treatises. Hence it would appear
that the religious life of Madjapahit was rooted in Buddhism,
but a most tolerant Buddhism which had no desire to repudiate
Brahmanism.
I have already briefly analysed the Sang Hyang Kama
hayanikan which seems to be the most authoritative exposition
of this creed. The learned editor has collected many parallels
from Tibetan and Nepalese works and similar parallels between
Javanese and Tibetan iconography have been indicated by
1 Chap. 37.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 181
Pleyte1 and others. The explanation must be that the late forms
of Buddhist art and doctrine which flourished in Magadha spread
to Tibet and Nepal but were also introduced into Java. The
Kamahayanikan appears to be a paraphrase of a Sanskrit
original, perhaps distorted and mutilated. This original has not
been identified with any work known to exist in India but might
well be a Mahayanist catechism composed there about the
eleventh century. The terminology of the treatise is peculiar,
particularly in calling the ultimate principle Advaya and the
more personal manifestation of it Divarupa. The former term
may be paralleled in Hemacandra and the Amarakosha, which
give respectively as synonyms for Buddha, advaya (in whom is
no duality) and advayavadin (who preaches no duality), but
Divarupa has not been found in any other work2. It is also
remarkable that the Kamahayanikan does not teach the
doctrine of the three bodies of Buddha3. It clearly states4 that
the Divarupa is identical with the highest being worshipped by
various sects: with Paramasunya, Paramasiva, the Purusha of
the followers of Kapila, the Nirguna of the Vishnuites, etc.
Many names of sects and doctrines are mentioned which remain
obscure, but the desire to represent them all as essentially
identical is obvious.
The Kamahayanikan recognizes the theoretical identity of
the highest principles in Buddhism and Vishnuism5 but it does
not appear that Vishnu-Buddha was ever a popular conception
like Siva-Buddha or that the compound deity called Siva-
Vishnu, Hari-Hara, Sarikara-Narayana, etc., so well known in
Camboja, enjoyed much honour in Java.. Vishnu is relegated
to a distinctly secondary position and the Javanese version of
the Mahabharata is more distinctly Sivaite than the Sanskrit
text. Still he has a shrine at Prambanan, the story of the
Bamayana is depicted there and at Panataran, and various
1 "Bijdrage totdeKennis vanhetMahayanaopJava"in£yd. totdeTaal Land en
Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie, 1901 and 1902.
a This use of advaya and advayavadin strengthens the suspicion that the
origins of the Advaita philosophy are to be sought in Buddhism.
* It uses the word trikaya but expressly defines it as meaning Kaya, vak and
citta.
4 In a passage which is not translated from the Sanskrit and may therefore
reflect the religious condition of Java.
8 So too in the Sutasoma Jataka Amoghasiddhi is said to be Vishnu.
182 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [en.
unedited manuscripts contain allusions to his worship, more
especially to his incarnation as Narasimha and to the Garuda
on which he rides1.
8
At present nearly all the inhabitants of Java profess Islam
although the religion of a few tribes, such as the Tenggarese, is
still a mixture of Hinduism with indigenous beliefs. But even
among nominal Moslims some traces of the older creed survive.
On festival days such monuments as Boroboedoer and Pram-
banan are frequented by crowds who, if they offer no worship,
at least take pleasure in examining the ancient statues. Some
of these however receive more definite honours : they are painted
red and modest offerings of flowers and fruit are laid before them.
Yet the respect shown to particular images seems due not to
old tradition but to modern and wrongheaded interpretations
of their meaning. Thus at Boroboedoer the relief which represents
the good tortoise saving a shipwrecked crew receives offerings
from women because the small figures on the tortoise's back are
supposed to be children. The minor forms of Indian mythology
still flourish. All classes believe in the existence of raksasas,
boetas (bhutas) and widadaris (vidyadharis), who are regarded
as spirits similar to the Jinns of the Arabs. Lakshmi survives
in the female genius believed even by rigid Mohammedans to
preside over the cultivation of rice and the somewhat disreput
able sect known as Santri Birahis are said to adore devas and
the forces of nature2. Less obvious, but more important as more
deeply affecting the national character, is the tendency towards
mysticism and asceticism! What is known as ngelmoe3 plays
a considerable part in the religious life of the modern Javanese.
The word is simply the Arabic 'ilm (or knowledge) used in the
sense of secret science. It sometimes signifies mere magic but
the higher forms of it, such as the ngelmoe peling, are said to
teach that the contemplative life is the way to the knowledge
of God and the attainment of supernatural powers. With such
1 See Juynboll in Bijdragen tot de Taal Land en Volkenkundc van Ned.-Indie,
1908, pp. 412-420.
2 Veth, Java, vol. iv. p. 154. The whole chapter contains much information
about the Hindu elements in modern Javanese religion.
3 See Veth, I.e. and ngelmoe in Encycl. van Nederlandsch-Indie.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 183
ngelmoe is often connected a belief in metempsychosis, in the
illusory nature of the world, and in the efficacy of regulating
the breath. Asceticism is still known under the name of tapa
and it is said that there are many recluses who live on alms
and spend their time in meditation. The affinity of all this to
Indian religion is obvious, although the Javanese have no idea
that it is in any way incompatible with orthodox Islam.
Indian religion, which in Java is represented merely by the
influence of the past on the present, is not dead in Bali1 where,
though much mixed with aboriginal superstitions, it is still a
distinct and national faith, able to hold its own against Moham
medanism and Christianity2.
The island of Bali is divided from the east coast of Java only
by a narrow strait but the inhabitants possess certain characters
of their own. They are more robust in build, their language is dis
tinct from Javanese though belonging to the same group, and even
the alphabet presents idiosyncrasies. Their laws, social institu
tions, customs and calendar show many peculiarities, explicable
on the supposition that they have preserved the ancient usages
of pre-Mohammedan Java. At present the population is divided
hi to the Bali-Agas or aborigines and the Wong Madjapahit who
profess to have immigrated from that kingdom. The Chinese
references3 to Bali seem uncertain but, if accepted, indicate that
it was known in the middle ages as a religious centre. It was
probably a colony and dependency of Madjapahit and when
Madjapahit fell it became a refuge for those who were not willing
to accept Islam.
Caste is still a social institution in Bali, five classes being
recognized, namely Brahmans, Kshatriyas (Satriyas), Vaisyas
(Visias), Sudras and Farias. These distinctions are rigidly
observed and though intermarriage (which in former times was
often punished with death) is now permitted, the offspring are
not recognized as belonging to the caste of the superior parent.
The bodies of the dead are burned and Sati, which was formerly
frequent, is believed still to take place in noble families. Pork
1 Also to some extent in Lombok. The Balinese were formerly the ruling class
in this island and are still found there in considerable numbers.
2 It has even been suggested that hinduized Malays carried some faint traces of
Indian religion to Madagascar. See T'oung Poo 1906, p. 93, where Zanahari is
explained as Yang ( =God in Malay) Hari.
8 Groeneveldt, pp. 19, 58, 59.
184 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
is the only meat used and, as in other Hindu countries, oxen
are never slaughtered.
An idea of the Balinese religion may perhaps be given most
easily by describing some of the temples. These are very abund
ant : in the neighbourhood of Boeleling (the capital) alone I have
seen more than ten of considerable size. As buildings they are
not ancient, for the stone used is soft and does not last much
more than fifty years. But when the edifices are rebuilt the
ancient shape is preserved and what we see in Bali to-day
probably represents the style of the middle ages. The temples
consist of two or more courts surrounded by high walls. Worship
is performed in the open air : there are various pyramids, seats,
and small shrines like dovecots but no halls or rooms. The gates
are ornamented with the heads of monsters, especially lions
with large ears and winglike expansions at the side. The outer
most gate has a characteristic shape. It somewhat resembles an
Indian gopuram divided into two parts by a sharp, clean cut in
the middle and tradition quotes in explanation the story of a
king who was refused entrance to heaven but cleft a passage
through the portal with his sword.
In the outer court stand various sheds and hollow wooden
cylinders which when struck give a sound like bells. Another
ornamented doorway leads to the second court where are found
some or all of the following objects : (a) Sacred trees, especially
Ficus elastica. (b) Sheds with seats for human beings. It is said
that on certain occasions these are used by mediums who be
come inspired by the gods and then give oracles, (c) Seats for
the gods, generally under sheds. They are of various kinds.
There is usually one conspicuous chair with an ornamental back
and a scroll hanging behind it which bears some such inscription
as "This is the chair of the Bhatara." Any deity may be
invited to take this seat and receive worship. Sometimes a stone
linga is placed upon it. In some temples a stone chair, called
padmasana, is set apart for Surya. (d) Small shrines two or
three feet high, set on posts or pedestals. When well executed
they are similar to the cabinets used in Japanese temples as
shrines for images but when, as often happens, they are roughly
made they are curiously like dovecots. On them are hung strips
of dried palm -leaves in bunches like the Japanese gohei. As a
rule the shrines contain no image but only a small seat and some
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 185
objects said to be stones which are wrapped up in a cloth and
called Artjeh1. In some temples (e.g. the Bale Agoeng at
Singaraja) there are erections called Meru, supposed to represent
the sacred mountain where the gods reside. They consist of a
stout pedestal or basis of brick on which is erected a cabinet
shrine as already described. Above this are large round discs
made of straw and wood, which may be described as curved
roofs or umbrellas. They are from three to five in number and
rise one above the other, with slight intervals between them.
(e) In many temples (for instance at Sangsit and Sawan)
pyramidal erections are found either in addition to the Merus
or instead of them. At the end of the second court is a pyramid
in four stages or terraces, often with prolongations at the side
of the main structure or at right angles to it. It is ascended by
several staircases, consisting of about twenty-five steps, and at
the top are rows of cabinet shrines.
Daily worship is not performed in these temples but offerings
are laid before the shrines from time to time by those who need
the help of the gods and there are several annual festivals. The
object of the ritual is not to honour any image or object habitually
kept in the temple but to induce the gods, who are supposed to
be hovering round like birds, to seat themselves in the chair
providecl or to enter into some sacred object, and then receive
homage and offerings. Thus both the ideas and ceremonial are
different from those which prevail in Hindu temples and have
more affinity with Polynesian beliefs. The deities are called
Dewa, but many of them are indigenous nature spirits (especially
mountain spirits) such as Dewa Gunung Agung, who are some
times identified with Indian gods.
Somewhat different are the Durga temples. These are
dedicated to the spirits of the dead but the images of Durga
and her attendant Kaliki receive veneration in them, much as
in Hindu temples. But on the whole the Malay or Polynesian
element seemed to me to be in practice stronger than Hinduism
in the religion of the Balinese and this is borne out by the fact
that the Pemangku or priest of the indigenous gods ranks
higher than the Pedanda or Brahman priest. But by talking to
Balinese one may obtain a different impression, for they are
proud of their connection with Madjapahit and Hinduism : they
1 This word appears to be the Sanskrit area, an image for worship.
186 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
willingly speak of such subjects and Hindu deities are constantly
represented in works of art. Ganesa, Indra, Vishnu, Krishna,
Surya, Garuda and Siva, as well as the heroes of the Mahabha-
rata, are well known but I have not heard of worship being
offered to any of them except Durga and Siva under the form
of the linga. Figures of Vishnu riding on Garuda are very
common and a certain class of artificers are able to produce
images of all well known Indian gods for those who care to
order them. Many Indian works such as the Veda, Mahabharata,
Ramayana, Brahmapurana and Nitisastra are known by name
and are said to exist not in the original Sanskrit but in Kawi.
I fancy that they are rarely read by the present generation, but
any knowledge of them is much respected. The Balinese though
confused in their theology are greatly attached to their religion
and believe it is the ancient faith of Madjapahit.
I was unable to discover in the neighbourhood of Singaraja
even such faint traces of Buddhism as have been reported by
previous authors1, but they may exist elsewhere. The expression
Siva-Buddha was known to the Pedandas but seemed to have
no living significance, and perhaps certain families have a
traditional and purely nominal connection with Buddhism. In
Durga temples however I have seen figures described as Pusa,
the Chinese equivalent of Bodhisattva, and it seems that
Chinese artists have reintroduced into this miscellaneous
pantheon an element of corrupt Buddhism, though the natives
do not recognize it as such.
The art of Bali is more fantastic than that of ancient Java.
The carved work, whether in stone or wood, is generally
polychromatic. Figures are piled one on the top of another as
in the sculptures of Central America and there is a marked
tendency to emphasize projections. Leaves and flowers are very
deeply carved and such features as ears, tongues and teeth are
monstrously prolonged. Thus Balinese statues and reliefs have
a curiously bristling and scaly appearance and are apt to seem
barbaric, especially if taken separately2. Yet the general aspect
of the temples is not unpleasing. The brilliant colours and
1 E.g. Van Eerde, "Hindu Javaansche en Balische Eeredienst" in Bijd. T. L.
en Volkenkunde van Neder landsc h -Indie, 1910. I visited Bali in 1911.
2 See Pleyte, Indonesian Art, 1901, especially the seven-headed figure in plate
XVI said to be Krishna.
XL] JAVA AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 187
fantastic outlines harmonize with the tropical vegetation which
surrounds them and suggest that the guardian deities take shape
as gorgeous insects. Such bizarre figures are not unknown in
Indian mythology but in Balinese art Chinese influence is
perhaps stronger than Indian. The Chinese probably frequented
the island as early as the Hindus and are now found there in
abundance. Besides the statues called Pusa already mentioned,
Chinese landscapes are often painted behind the seats of the
Devas and in the temple on the Volcano Batoer, where a special
place is assigned to all the Balinese tribes, the Chinese have their
own shrine. It is said that the temples in southern Bali which
are older and larger than those in the north show even more
decided signs of Chinese influence and are surrounded by stone
figures of Chinese as guardians.
m. 13
CHAPTER XLI
CENTRAL ASIA
THE term Central Asia is here used to denote the Tarim basin,
without rigidly excluding neighbouring countries such as the
Oxus region and Badakshan. This basin is a depression sur
rounded on three sides by high mountains : only on the east is
the barrier dividing it from China relatively low. The water of
the whole area discharges through the many branched Tarim
river into Lake Lobnor. This so-called lake is now merely a
flooded morass and the basin is a desert with occasional oases
lying chiefly near its edges. The fertile portions were formerly
more considerable but a quarter of a century ago this remote
and lonely region interested no one but a few sportsmen and
geographers. The results of recent exploration have been im
portant and surprising. The arid sands have yielded not only
ruins, statues and frescoes but whole libraries written in a dozen
languages. The value of such discoveries for the general history
of Asia is clear and they are of capital importance for our special
subject, since during many centuries the Tarim region and its
neighbouring lands were centres and highways for Buddhism
and possibly the scene of many changes whose origin is now
obscure. But I am unfortunate in having to discuss Central
Asian Buddhism before scholars have had time to publish or
even catalogue completely the store of material collected and
the reader must remember that the statements in this chapter
are at best tentative and incomplete. They will certainly be
supplemented and probably corrected as year by year new
documents and works of art are made known.
Tarim, in watery metaphor, is not so much a basin as a pool
in a tidal river flowing alternately to and from the sea. We can
imagine that in such a pool creatures of very different proven
ance might be found together. So currents both from east to
west and from west to east passed through the Tarim, leaving
behind whatever could live there: Chinese administration and
CH. xu] CENTRAL ASIA 189
civilization from the east : Iranians from the west, bearing with
them in the stream fragments that had drifted from Asia Minor
and Byzantium, while still other currents brought Hindus and
Tibetans from the south.
One feature of special interest in the history of the Tarim
is that it was in touch with Bactria and the regions conquered
by Alexander and through them with western art and thought.
Another is that its inhabitants included not only Iranian tribes
but the speakers of an Aryan language hitherto unknown, whose
presence so far east may oblige us to revise our views about the
history of the Aryan race. A third characteristic is that from
the dawn of history to the middle ages warlike nomads were
continually passing through the country. All these people,
whether we call them Iranians, Turks or Mongols had the same
peculiarity : they had little culture of their own but they picked
up and transported the ideas of others. The most remarkable ex
ample of this is the introduction of Islam into Europe and India.
Nothing quite so striking happened in earlier ages, yet tribes similar
to the Turks brought Manichseism and Nestorian Christianity into
China and played no small part in the introduction of Buddhism.
A brief catalogue of the languages represented in the manu
scripts and inscriptions discovered will give a safe if only
provisional idea of the many influences at work in Central Asia
and its importance as a receiving and distributing centre. The
number of tongues simultaneously in use for popular or learned
purposes was remarkably large. To say nothing of great polyglot
libraries like Tun-huang, a small collection at Toyog is reported
as containing Indian, Manichaean, Syriac, Sogdian, Uigur and
Chinese books. The writing materials employed were various
like the idioms and include imported palm leaves, birch bark,
plates of wood or bamboo, leather and paper, which last was in
use from the first century A.D. onwards. In this dry atmosphere
all enjoyed singular longevity.
Numerous Sanskrit writings have been found, all dealing
with religious or quasi religious subjects, as medicine and
grammar were then considered to be. Relatively modern
Mahayanist literature is abundant but greater interest attaches
to portions of an otherwise lost Sanskrit canon which agree in
substance though not verbally with the corresponding passages
in the Pali Canon and are apparently the original text from
190 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
which much of the Chinese Tripitaka was translated. The
manuscripts hitherto published include Sutras from the Sam-
yukta and Ekottara Agamas, a considerable part of the
Dharmapada, and the Pratimoksha of the Sarvastivadin school.
Fa-Hsien states that the monks of Central Asia were all students
of the language of India and even in the seventh century Hsiian
Chuang tells us the same of Kucha. Portions of a Sanskrit
grammar have been found near Turfan and in the earlier period
at any rate Sanskrit was probably understood in polite and
learned society. Some palm leaves from Ming-Oi contain frag
ments of two Buddhist religious dramas, one of which is the
Sariputra-prakarana of Asvaghosha. The handwriting is believed
to date from the epoch of Kanishka so that we have here the
oldest known Sanskrit manuscripts, as well as the oldest
specimens of Indian dramatic art1. They are written like the
Indian classical dramas in Sanskrit and various forms of
Prakrit. The latter represent hitherto unknown stages in the
development of Indian dialects and some of them are closely
allied to the language of Asoka's inscriptions. Another Prakrit
text is the version of the Dharmapada written in Kharoshthi
characters and discovered by the Dutreuil de Rhins mission
near Khotan2, and numerous official documents in this language
and alphabet have been brought home by Stein from the same
region. It is probable that they are approximately coeval with
the Kushan dynasty in India and the use of an Indian vernacular
as well as of Sanskrit in Central Asia shows that the connection
between the two countries was not due merely to the intro
duction of Buddhism.
Besides these hitherto unknown forms of Prakrit, Central
Asia has astonished the learned world with two new languages,
both written in a special variety of the Brahmi alphabet called
Central Asian Gupta. One is sometimes called Nordarisch and
is regarded by some authorities as the language of the Sakas
whose incursions into India appear to have begun about the
second century B.C. and by others as the language of the
Kushans and of Kanishka's Empire. It is stated that the basis
of the language is Iranian but strongly influenced by Indian
1 See Liiders, Bruchstilcke Buddhistischer Dramen, 1911, and id., Das Sdriputra-
prakarana, 1911.
2 See Senart, "Le ms Kharoshthi du Dhammapada," in J.A., 1898, n. p. 193.
xu] CENTRAL ASIA 191
idioms1. Many translations of Mahay anist literature (for instance
the Suvarnaprabhasa, Vajracchedika and Aparimitayus Sutras)
were made into it and it appears to have been spoken principally
in the southern part of the Tarim basin2. The other new language
was spoken principally on its northern edge and has been called
Tokharian, which name implies that it was the tongue of the
Tokhars or Indoscyths3. But there is no proof of this and it is
safer to speak of it as the language of Kucha or Kuchanese. It
exists in two different dialects known as A and B whose geo
graphical distribution is uncertain but numerous official
documents dated in the first half of the seventh century show
that it was the ordinary speech of Kucha and Turfan. It was
also a literary language and among the many translations dis
covered are versions in it of the Dharmapada and Vinaya. It is
extremely interesting to find that this language spoken by the
early and perhaps original inhabitants of Kucha not only belongs
to the Aryan family but is related more nearly to the western
than the eastern branch. It cannot be classed in the Indo-
Iranian group but shows perplexing affinities to Latin, Greek,
Keltic, Slavonic and Armenian4. It is possible that it influenced
Chinese Buddhist literature5.
Besides the "Nordarisch" mentioned above which was
written in Brahmi, three other Iranian languages have left
literary remains in Central Asia, all written in an alphabet of
Aramaic origin. Two of them apparently represent the speech
of south-western Persia under the Sassanids, and of north
western Persia under the Arsacids. The texts preserved in both
are Manichaean but the third Iranian language, or Sogdian, has
1 Liiders, "Die Sakas und die Nordarische Sprache," Sitzungsber. der Ron.
Preuss. Akad. 1913. Konow, Getting. Gel Anz. 1912, pp. 551 ff.
2 See Hoernle in J.E.A.8. 1910, pp. 837 ff. and 1283 ff. ; 1911, pp. 202 ff., 447 ff.
3 An old Turkish text about Maitreya states that it was translated from an
Indian language into Tokhri and from Tokhri into Turkish. See F. K. W. Miiller,
Sitzungsber. der Kon. Preuss. Akad. 1907, p. 958. But it is not clear what is meant
by Tokhri.
4 The following are some words in this language:
Kant, a hundred; rake, a word; por, fire; soye, son (Greek vl6s); suwan,
swese, rain (Greek tfei yeros); alyek, another; okso, an ox.
6 The numerous papers on this language are naturally quickly superseded. But
Sieg and Siegling Tokharisch, "Die Sprache der Indoskythen" (Sitzungsber. der
Berl. Ak. Wiss. 1908, p. 815), may be mentioned and Sylvain Levi, "Tokharien B,
Langue de Koutcha," J.A. 1913, n. p. 311.
192 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
a more varied literary content and offers Buddhist, Manichsean
and Christian texts, apparently in that chronological order. It
was originally the language of the region round Samarkand but
acquired an international character for it was used by merchants
throughout the Tarim basin and spread even to China. Some
Christian texts in Syriac have also been found.
The Orkhon inscriptions exhibit an old Turkish dialect
written in the characters commonly called Runes and this Runic
alphabet is used in manuscripts found at Tun-huang and Miran
but those hitherto published are not Buddhist. But another
Turkish dialect written in the Uigur alphabet, which is derived
from the Syriac, was (like Sogdian) extensively used for
Buddhist, Manichaean and Christian literature. The name Uigur
is perhaps more correctly applied to the alphabet than the
language1 which appears to have been the literary form of the
various Turkish idioms spoken north and south of the Tien-shan.
The use of this dialect for Buddhist literature spread consider
ably whqn the Uigurs broke the power of Tibet in the Tarim
basin about 860 and founded a kingdom themselves : it extended
into China and lasted long, for Sutras in Uigur were printed at
Peking in 1330 and Uigur manuscripts copied in the reign of
K'ang Hsi (1662-1723) are reported from a monastery near
Suchow2. I am informed that a variety of this alphabet written
in vertical columns is still used in some parts of Kansu where
a Turkish dialect is spoken. Though Turkish was used by
Buddhists in both the east and west of the Tarim basin, it
appears to have been introduced into Khotan only after the
Moslim conquest. Another Semitic script, hitherto unknown and
found only in a fragmentary form, is believed to be the writing
of the White Huns or Hephthalites.
As the Tibetans were the predominant power in the Tarim
basin from at least the middle of the eighth until the middle of
the ninth century, it is not surprising that great stores of
Tibetan manuscripts have been found in the regions of Khotan,
Miran and Tun-huang. In Turfan, as lying more to the north,
traces of Tibetan influence, though not absent, are fewer. The
1 See Radloff Tisastvustik (Bibl. Buddh. vol. xu.), p. v. This manuscript came
from Urumtsi. A translation of a portion of the Saddharma-pundarika (Bibl.
Buddh. xiv.) was found at Turfan.
2 Laufer in Toung Pao, 1907, p. 392; Radloff, Kuan-si-im Pursar, p. vii.
xu] CENTRAL ASIA 193
documents discovered must be anterior to the ninth century
and comprise numerous official and business papers as well as
Buddhist translations1. They are of great importance for the
history of the Tibetan language and also indicate that at the
period when they were written Buddhism at most shared with
the Bon religion the allegiance of the Tibetans. No Manichaean
or Christian translations in Tibetan have yet been discovered.
Vast numbers of Chinese texts both religious and secular are
preserved in all the principal centres and offer many points of
interest among which two may be noticed. Firstly the posts on
the old military frontier near Tun-huang have furnished a series
of dated documents ranging from 98B.C. to 153A.D.2 There is
therefore no difficulty in admitting that there was intercourse
between China and Central Asia at this period. Secondly, some
documents of the T'ang dynasty are Manichsean, with an
admixture of Buddhist and Taoist ideas3.
The religious monuments of Central Asia comprise stupas,
caves and covered buildings used as temples or viharas. Bud
dhist, Manichaean and Christian edifices have been discovered
but apparently no shrines of the Zoroastrian religion, though it
had many adherents in these regions, and though representa
tions of Hindu deities have been found, Hinduism is not known
to have existed apart from Buddhism4. Caves decorated for
Buddhist worship are found not only in the Tarim basin but at
Tun-huang on the frontier of China proper, near Ta-t'ung-fu in
northern Shensi, and in the defile of Lung-men in the province
of Ho-nan. The general scheme and style of these caves are
similar, but while in the last two, as in most Indian caves, the
figures and ornaments are true sculpture, in the caves of Tun-
huang and the Tarim not only is the wall prepared for frescoes,
but even the figures are executed in stucco. This form of decora
tion was congenial to Central Asia for the images which embel
lished the temple walls were moulded in the same fashion.
Temples and caves were sometimes combined, for instance at
Bazaklik where many edifices were erected on a terrace in front
1 See especially Stein's Ancient Khotan, app. B, and Francke in J.R.A.S. 1914,
p. 37.
2 Chavannes, Les documents chinois decouverts par Aurel Stein, 1913.
3 See especially Chavannes and Pelliot, "Traite Manicheen" in J.A. 1911 and
1913.
4 Hsiian Chuang notes its existence however in Kabul and Kapis'a.
194 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
of a series of caves excavated in a mountain corner. Few roofed
buildings are well preserved but it seems certain that some were
high quadrilateral structures, crowned by a dome of a shape
found in Persia, and that others had barrel-shaped roofs,
apparently resembling the chaityas of Ter and Chezarla1. Le
Coq states that this type of architecture is also found in Persia2.
The commonest type of temple was a hall having at its further
end a cella, with a passage behind to allow of circumambulation.
Such halls were frequently enlarged by the addition of side
rooms and sometimes a shrine was enclosed by several rectangular
courts3.
Many stupas have been found either by themselves or in
combination with other buildings. The one which is best pre
served (or at any rate reproduced in greatest detail)4 is the
Stupa of Rawak. It is set in a quadrangle bounded by a wall
which was ornamented on both its inner and outer face by a
series of gigantic statues in coloured stucco. The dome is set
upon a rectangular base disposed in three stories and this
arrangement is said to characterize all the stupas of Turkestan
as well as those of the Kabul valley and adjacent regions.
This architecture appears to owe nothing to China but to
include both Indian (especially Gandharan) and Persian ele
ments. Many of its remarkable features, if not common else
where, are at least widely scattered. Thus some of the caves at
Ming-Oi have dome-like roofs ornamented with a pattern com
posed of squares within squares, set at an angle with each other.
A similar ornamentation is reported from Pandrenthan in
Kashmir and from Bamian5.
The antiquities of Central Asia include frescoes executed on
the walls of caves and buildings, and paintings on silk paper6.
The origin and affinities of this art are still the subject of
investigation and any discussion of them would lead me too
far from my immediate subject. But a few statements can be
See for these Fergusson-Burgess, History of Indian Architecture, i. pp. 125-8.
J.R.A.S. 1909, p. 313.
E.g. Griinwedel, Altbuddhistische Kultstdtten, fig. 624.
Stein, Ancient Khotan, plates xiii-xvii and xl, pp. 83 and 482 S.
See Griinwedel, Buddh. Kultstdtten, pp. 129-130 and plate. Foucher, "L'Art
Greco-Bouddhique," p. 145, J.R.A.S. 1886, 333 and plate i.
6 See Wachsberger's " Stil-kritische Studien zur Kunst Chinesisch-Turkestan's "
in Ostasiatische Ztsjt. 1914 and 1915.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 195
made with some confidence. The influence of Gandhara is plain
in architecture, sculpture, and painting. The oldest works may
be described as simply Gandharan but this early style is followed
by another which shows a development both in technique and
in mythology. It doubtless represents Indian Buddhist art as
modified by local painters and sculptors. Thus in the Turf an
frescoes the drapery and composition are Indian but the faces
are eastern asiatic. Sometimes however they represent a race
with red hair and blue eyes.
On the whole the paintings testify to the invasion of Far
Eastern art by the ideas and designs of Indian Buddhism rather
than to an equal combination of Indian and Chinese influence
but in some forms of decoration, particularly that employed in
the Khan's palace at Idiqutshahri1, Chinese style is predominant.
It may be too that the early pre-buddhist styles of painting in
China and Central Asia were similar. In the seventh century
a Khotan artist called Wei-ch'ih Po-chih-na migrated to China,
where both he and his son Wei-ch'ih I-seng acquired considerable
fame.
Persian influence also is manifest in many paintings. A
striking instance may be seen in two plates published by Stein2
apparently representing the same Boddhisattva. In one he is
of the familiar Indian type: the other seems at first sight
a miniature of some Persian prince, black-bearded and high-
booted, but the figure has four arms. As might be expected, it
is the Manichaean paintings which are least Indian in character.
They represent a "lost late antique school3" which often recalls
Byzantine art and was perhaps the parent of mediaeval Persian
miniature painting.
The paintings of Central Asia resemble its manuscripts. It
is impossible to look through any collection of them without
feeling that currents of art and civilization flowing from neigh
bouring and even from distant lands have met and mingled in
this basin. As the reader turns over the albums of Stein,
Griinwedel or Le Coq he is haunted by strange reminiscences
and resemblances, and wonders if they are merely coincidences
or whether the pedigrees of these pictured gods and men really
1 See Griinwedel, Buddh. Kultstdtten, pp. 332 S.
2 Ancient Khotan, vol. 11. plates Ix and Ixi.
3 Le Coq in J.E.A.S. 1909, pp. 299 ff. See the whole article.
196 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
stretch across time and space to far off origins. Here are coins
and seals of Hellenic design, nude athletes that might adorn
a Greek vase, figures that recall Egypt, Byzantium or the.
Bayeux tapestry, with others that might pass for Christian
ecclesiastics; Chinese sages, Krishna dancing to the sound of
his flute, frescoes that might be copied from Ajanta, winged
youths to be styled cupids or cherubs according to our
mood1.
Stein mentions2 that he discovered a Buddhist monastery
in the terminal marshes of the Helmund in the Persian province
of Seistan, containing paintings of a Hellenistic type which show
"for the first time in situ the Iranian link of the chain which
connects the Grseco-Buddhist art of extreme north-west India
with the Buddhist art of Central Asia and the Far East."
Central Asian art is somewhat wanting in spontaneity.
Except when painting portraits (which are many) the artists
do not seem to go to nature or even their own imagination and
visions. They seem concerned to reproduce some religious scene
not as they saw it but as it was represented by Indian or other
artists.
Only one side of Central Asian history can be written with
any completeness, namely its relations with China. Of these
some account with dates can be given, thanks to the Chinese
annals which incidentally supply valuable information about
earlier periods. But unfortunately these relations were often
interrupted and also the political record does not always furnish
the data which are of most importance for the history of
Buddhism. Still there is no better framework available for
arranging our data. But even were our information much
fuller, we should probably find the history of Central Asia
scrappy and disconnected. Its cities were united by no bond of
common blood or language, nor can any one of them have had
a continuous development in institutions, letters or art. These
were imported in a mature form and more or less assimilated
in a precocious Augustan age, only to be overwhelmed in some
catastrophe which, if not merely destructive, at least brought
the ideas and baggage of another race.
1 For some of the more striking drawings referred to see Griinwedel, Buddh.
Kultstdtten, figs. 51, 53, 239, 242, 317, 337, 345-349.
2 In Qeog. Journal, May 1916, p. 362.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 197
It was under the Emperor Wu-ti (140-87 B.C.) of the Han
dynasty that the Chinese first penetrated into the Tarim basin.
They had heard that the Hsiung-nu, of whose growing power
they were afraid, had driven the Yueh-chih westwards and they
therefore despatched an envoy named Chang Ch'ien in the hope
of inducing the Yueh-chih to co-operate with them against the
common enemy. Chang Ch'ien made two adventurous expedi
tions, and visited the Yueh-chih in their new home somewhere
on the Oxus. His mission failed to attain its immediate political
object but indirectly had important results, for it revealed to
China that the nations on the Oxus were in touch with India
on one hand and with the more mysterious west on the other.
Henceforth it was her aim to keep open the trade route leading
westwards from the extremity of the modern Kansu province to
Kashgar, Khotan and the countries with which those cities
communicated. Fat from wishing to isolate herself or exclude
foreigners, her chief desire was to keep the road to the west
open, and although there were times when the flood of Buddhism
which swept along this road alarmed the more conservative
classes, yet for many centuries everything that came in the way
of merchandize, art, literature, and religion was eagerly received.
The chief hindrance to this intercourse was the hostility of the
wild tribes who pillaged caravans and blocked the route, and
throughout the whole stretch of recorded history the Chinese
used the same method to weaken them and keep the door open,
namely to create or utilize a quarrel between two tribes. The
Empire allied itself with one in order to crush the second and
that being done, proceeded to deal with its former ally.
Dated records beginning with the year 98 B.C. testify to the
presence of a Chinese garrison near the modern Tun-huang1.
But at the beginning of the Christian era the Empire was
convulsed by internal rebellion and ceased to have influence or
interest in Central Asia. With the restoration of order things
took another turn. The reign of the Emperor Ming-ti is the
traditional date for the introduction of Buddhism and it also
witnessed the victorious campaigns of the famous general and
adventurer Pan Ch'ao. He conquered Khotan and Kashgar and
victoriously repulsed the attacks of the Kushans or Yueh-chih
who were interested in these regions and endeavoured to stop
his progress. The Chinese annals do not give the name of their
1 Chavannes, Documents chinois d&ouverts par Aurel Stein, 1913.
198 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
king but it must have been Kanishka if he came to the throne
in 78. I confess however that this silence makes it difficult for
me to accept 78-123 A.D. as the period of Kanishka's reign, for
he must have been a monarch of some celebrity and if the
Chinese had come into victorious contact with him, would not
their historians have mentioned it? It seems to me more
probable that he reigned before or after Pan Ch'ao's career hi
Central Asia which lasted from A.D. 73-102. With the end of
that career Chinese activity ceased for some time and perhaps
the Kushans conquered Kashgar and Khotan early in the second
century. Neither the degenerate Han dynasty nor the stormy
Three Kingdoms could grapple with distant political problems
and during the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries northern China
was divided among Tartar states, short-lived and mutually
hostile. The Empire ceased to be a political power in the Tarim
basin but intercourse with Central Asia and in particular the
influx of Buddhism increased, and there was also a return wave
of Chinese influence westwards. Meanwhile two tribes, the
Hephthalites (or White Huns) and the Turks1, successively
became masters of Central Asia and founded states sometimes
called Empires — that is to say they overran vast tracts within
which they took tribute without establishing any definite
constitution or frontiers.
When the T'ang dynasty (618-907) re-united the Empire,
the Chinese Government with characteristic tenacity reverted
to its old policy of keeping the western road open and to its old
methods. The Turks were then divided into two branches, the
northern and western, at war with one another. The Chinese
allied themselves with the latter, defeated the northern Turks
and occupied Turf an (640). Then in a series of campaigns, in
which they were supported by the Uigurs, they conquered their
former allies the western Turks and proceeded to organize the
Tarim basin under the name of the Four Garrisons2. This was
the most glorious period of China's foreign policy and at no
other time had she so great a position as a western power. The
1 These of course are not the Osmanlis or Turks of Constantinople. The Osmanlis
are the latest of the many branches of the Turks, who warred and ruled in Central
Asia with varying success from the fifth to the eighth centuries.
a That is Kashgar, Khotan, Kucha and Tokmak for which last Karashahr was
subsequently substituted. The territory was also called An Hsi.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 199
list of hei; possessions included Bokhara in the west and starting
from Semirechinsk and Tashkent in the north extended south
wards so as to embrace Afghanistan with the frontier districts
of India and Persia1. It is true that the Imperial authority in
many of these regions was merely nominal: when the Chinese
conquered a tribe which claimed sovereignty over them they
claimed sovereignty themselves. But for the history of civiliza
tion, for the migration of art and ideas, even this nominal claim
is important, for China was undoubtedly in touch with India,
Bokhara and" Persia.
But no sooner did these great vistas open, than new enemies
appeared to bar the road. The Tibetans descended into the
Tarim basin and after defeating the Chinese in 670 held the
Four Garrisons till 692, when the fortunes of war were reversed.
But the field was not left clear for China: the power of the
northern Turks revived, and Mohammedanism, then a new force
but destined to ultimate triumph in politics and religion alike,
appeared in the west. The conquests of the Mohammedan
general Qutayba (705-715) extended to Ferghana and he
attacked Kashgar. In the long reign of Hsiian Tsung China
waged a double warfare against the Arabs and Tibetans. For
about thirty years (719-751) the struggle was successful. Even
Tabaristan is said to have acknowledged China's suzerainty.
Her troops crossed the Hindu Kush and reached Gilgit. But in
751 they sustained a crushing defeat near Tashkent. The
disaster was aggravated by the internal troubles of the Empire
and it was long before Chinese authority recovered from the
blow2. The Tibetans reaped the advantage. Except in Turf an,
they were the dominant power of the Tarim basin for a century,
they took tribute from China and when it was refused sacked
the capital, Chang-an (763). It would appear however that for
a time Chinese garrisons held out in Central Asia and Chinese
officials exercised some authority, though they obtained no
support from the Empire3. But although even late in the tenth
century Khotan sent embassies to the Imperial Court, China
1 See for lists and details Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-kiue Occidentaux,
pp. 67 ff. and 270 ff.
2 The conquest and organization of the present Chinese Turkestan dates only
from the reign of Ch'ien Lung.
8 Thus the pilgrim Wu-K'ung mentions Chinese officials in the Four Garrisons.
200 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
gradually ceased to be a Central Asian power. She made a
treaty with the Tibetans (783) and an alliance with the Uigurs,
who now came to the front and occupied Turf an, where there
was a flourishing Uigur kingdom with Manichaeism as the state
religion from about 750 to 843. In that year the Kirghiz sacked
Turfan and it is interesting to note that the Chinese who had
hitherto tolerated Manichaeism as the religion of their allies,
at once began to issue restrictive edicts against it. But except
in Turfan it does not appear that the power of the Uigurs was
weakened1. In 860-817 they broke up Tibetan rule in the
Tarim basin and formed a new kingdom of their own which
apparently included Kashgar, Urumtsi and Kucha but not
Khotan. The prince of Kashgar embraced Islam about 945,
but the conversion of Khotan and Turfan was later. With this
conversion the connection of the Tarim basin with the history
of Buddhism naturally ceases, for it does not appear that the
triumphal progress of Lamaism under Khubilai Khan affected
these regions.
3
The Tarim basin, though sometimes united under foreign
rule, had no indigenous national unity. Cities, or groups of
towns, divided by deserts lived their own civic life and enjoyed
considerable independence under native sovereigns, although
the Chinese, Turks or Tibetans quartered troops in them and
appointed residents to supervise the collection of tribute. The
chief of these cities or oases were Kashgar in the west : Kucha,
Karashahr, Turfan (Idiqutshahri, Chotscho) and Hami lying
successively to the north-east : Yarkand, Khotan and Miran to
the south-east2. It may be well to review briefly the special
history of some of them.
The relics found near Kashgar, the most western of these
cities, are comparatively few, probably because its position
exposed it to the destructive influence of Islam at an early date.
Chinese writers reproduce the name as Ch'ia-sha, Chieh-ch'a,
etc., but also call the region Su-le, Shu-le, or Sha-le3. It is
1 See for this part of their history, Grenard's article in J.A. 1900, I. pp. 1-79.
2 Pelliot also attributes importance to a Sogdian Colony to the south of Lob
Nor, which may have had much to do with the transmission of Buddhism and
Nestorianism to China. See J.A. Jan. 1916, pp. 111-123.
8 These words have been connected with the tribe called Sacae, Sakas, or Sb'k.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 201
mentioned first in the Han annals. After the missions of Chang-
Ch'ien trade with Bactria and Sogdiana grew rapidly and
Kashgar which was a convenient emporium became a Chinese
protected state in the first century B.C. But when the hold of
China relaxed about the time of the Christian era it was subdued
by the neighbouring kingdom of Khotan. The conquests of
Pan-Ch'ao restored Chinese supremacy but early in the second
century the Yueh-chih interfered in the politics of Kashgar and
placed on the throne a prince who was their tool. The intro
duction of Buddhism is ascribed to this epoch1. If Kanishka
was then reigning the statement that he conquered Kashgar
and Khotan is probably correct. It is supported by Hsiian
Chuang's story of the hostages and by his assertion that
Kanishka's rule extended to the east of the Ts'ung-ling moun
tains : also by the discovery of Kanishka's coins in the Khotan
district. Little is heard of Kashgar until Fa-Hsien visited it in
4002. He speaks of the quinquennial religious conferences held
by the king, at one of which he was present, of relics of the
Buddha and of a monastery containing a thousand monks all
students of the Hinayana. About 460 the king sent as a present
to the Chinese Court an incombustible robe once worn by the
Buddha, Shortly afterwards Kashgar was incorporated in the
dominions of the Hephthalites, and when these succumbed to
the western Turks about 465, it merely changed masters.
Hsiian Chuang has left an interesting account of Kashgar
as he found it on his return journey3. The inhabitants were
sincere Buddhists and there were more than a thousand monks
of the Sarvastivadin school. But their knowledge was not in
proportion to their zeal for they read the scriptures diligently
without understanding them. They used an Indian alphabet
into which they had introduced alterations.
1 See Klaproth, Tabl. Historique, p. 166, apparently quoting from Chinese
sources. Specht, J.A. 1897, n. p. 187. Franke, Be.itr.~zur Kenntniss Zentral-Asiens,
p. 83. The passage quoted by Specht from the Later Han Annals clearly states that
the Yiieh-chih made a rnan of their own choosing prince of Kashgar, although, as
Franke points out, it makes no reference to Kanishka or the story of the hostages
related by Hsiian Chuang.
2 Fa-Hsien'sChieh-ch'a has been interpreted as Skardo, butChavannes seems to
have proved that it is Kashgar.
3 About 643 A.D. He mentions that the inhabitants tattooed their bodies, flat
tened their children's heads and had green eyes. Also that they spoke a peculiar
language.
202 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
According to Hsiian Chuang's religious conspectus of these
regions, Kashgar, Osh and Kucha belonged to the Small
Vehicle, Yarkand and Khotan mainly to the Great. The Small
Vehicle also flourished at Balkh and at Bamian1. In Kapisa
the Great Vehicle was predominant but there were also many
Hindu sects : in the Kabul valley too Hinduism and Buddhism
seem to have been mixed : in Persia2 there were several hundred
Sarvastivadin monks. In Tokhara (roughly equivalent to
Badakshan) there was some Buddhism but apparently it did
not flourish further north in the regions of Tashkent and
Samarkand. In the latter town there were two disused mon
asteries but when Hsiian Chuang's companions entered them
they were mobbed by the populace. He says that these rioters
were fire worshippers and that the Turks whom he visited
somewhere near Aulieata were of the same religion. This last
statement is perhaps inaccurate but the T'ang annals expressly
state that the population of Kashgar and Khotan was in part
Zoroastrian3. No mention of Nestorianism in Kashgar at this
date has yet been discovered, although in the thirteenth century
it was a Nestorian see. But since Nestorianism had penetrated
even to China in the seventh century, it probably also existed
in Samarkand and Kashgar.
The pilgrim Wu-K'ung spent five months in Kashgar about
786, but there appear to be no later data of interest for the study
of Buddhism.
The town of Kucha4 lies between Kashgar and Turfan,
somewhat to the west of Karashahr. In the second century B.C.
it was already a flourishing city. Numerous dated documents
show that about 630 A.D. the language of ordinary life was the
interesting idiom sometimes called Tokharian B, and, since the
Chinese annals record no alien invasion, we may conclude that
Kucha existed as an Aryan colony peopled by the speakers of
1 At Bamian the monks belonged to the Lokottaravadin School.
2 Beal, Records, n. p. 278. The pilgrim is speaking from hearsay and it is not
clear to what part of Persia he refers.
3 See Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-kiue Occidentaux, pp. 121, 125. The
inhabitants of K'ang (Samarkand or Sogdiana) are said to honour both religions.
76. p. 135.
* Known to the Chinese by several slightly different names such as Ku-chih,
Kiu-tse which are all attempts to represent the same sound. For Kucha see S. LC" vi's
most interesting article "Le 'Tokharien B' langue de Koutcha" in J.A. 1913, 11.
pp. 311 ff.
xu] CENTRAL ASIA 203
this language some centuries before the Christian era. It is
mentioned in the Han annals and when brought into contact
with China in the reign of Wu-ti (140-87 B.C.) it became a place
of considerable importance, as it lay at the junction1 of the
western trade routes leading to Kashgar and Aulieata respec
tively. Kucha absorbed some Chinese civilization but its
doubtful loyalty to the Imperial throne often involved it in
trouble. It is not until the Western Tsin dynasty that we find
it described as a seat of Buddhism. The Tsin annals say that it
was enclosed by a triple wall and contained a thousand stupas
and Buddhist temples as well as a magnificent palace for the
king2. This implies that Buddhism had been established for some
time but no evidence has been found to date its introduction.
In 383 Fu-chien, Emperor of the Tsin dynasty, sent his
general Lu-Kuang to subdue Kucha3. The expedition was
successful and among the captives taken was the celebrated
Kumarajiva. Lii-Kuang was so pleased with the magnificent
and comfortable life of Kucha that he thought of settling there
but Kumarajiva prophesied that he was destined to higher
things. So they left to try their fortune in China. Lii-Kuang
rose to be ruler of the state known as Southern Liang and his
captive and adviser became one of the greatest names in Chinese
Buddhism.
Kumarajiva is a noticeable figure and his career illustrates
several points of importance. First, his father came from
India and he himself went as a youth to study in Kipin (Kash
mir) and then returned to Kucha. Living in this remote corner
of Central Asia he was recognized as an encyclopaedia of Indian
learning including a knowledge of the Vedas and "heretical
s*astras." Secondly after his return to Kucha he was converted
to Mahay anism. Thirdly he went from Kucha to China where
he had a distinguished career as a translator. Thus we see how
1 J.A. 1913, ii. p. 326.
2 See Chavannes in Stein's Ancient Khotan, p. 544. The Western Tsin reigned
265-317.
8 The circumstances which provoked the expedition are not very clear. It was
escorted by the king of Turfan and other small potentates who were the vassals of
the Tsin and also on bad terms with Kucha. They probably asked Fu-chien for
assistance in subduing their rival which he was delighted to give. Some authorities
(e.g. Nanjio Cat. p. 406) give Karashahr as the name of Kumarajiva's town, but
this seema to be a mistake.
E.in. ,4
204 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
China was brought into intellectual touch with India and how
the Mahayana was gaining in Central Asia territory previously
occupied by the Hinayana. The monk Dharmagupta who passed
through Kucha about 584 says that the king favoured Mahayan-
ism1. That Kucha should have been the home of distinguished
translators is not strange for a statement2 has been preserved
to the effect that Sanskrit texts were used in the cities lying to
the west of it, but that in Kucha itself Indian languages were
not understood and translations were made, although such
Sanskrit words as were easily intelligible were retained.
In the time of the Wei, Kucha again got into trouble with
China and was brought to order by another punitive expedition
in 448. After this lesson a long series of tribute-bearing missions
is recorded, sent first to the court of Wei, and afterwards to the
Liang, Chou and Sui. The notices respecting the country are to
a large extent repetitions. They praise its climate, fertility and
mineral wealth : the magnificence of the royal palace, the number
and splendour of the religious establishments. Peacocks were
as common as fowls and the Chinese annalists evidently had a
general impression of a brilliant, pleasure-loving and not very
moral city. It was specially famous for its music : the songs and
dances of Kucha, performed by native artists, were long in
favour at the Imperial Court, and a list of twenty airs has been
preserved3.
When the T'ang dynasty came to the throne Kucha sent an
embassy to do homage but again supported Karashahr in
rebellion and again brought on herself a punitive expedition
(648). But the town was peaceful and prosperous when visited
by Hsiian Chuang about 630.
His description agrees in substance with other notices, but
he praises the honesty of the people. He mentions that the
king was a native and that a much modified Indian alphabet
was in use. As a churchman, he naturally dwells with pleasure
on the many monasteries and great images, the quinquennial
1 S. L^vi, J.A. 1913, n. p. 348, quoting Hsu Kao Seng Chuan.
2 Quoted by S. Levi from the Sung Kao Seng Chuan. See J.A. 1913, n. p. 344
and B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 562.
8 As a proof of foreign influence in Chinese culture, it is interesting to note that
there were seven orchestras for the imperial banquets, including those of Kucha,
Bokhara and India and a mixed one in which were musicians from Samarkand,
Kashgar, Camboja and Japan.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 205
assemblies and religious processions. There were more than
100 monasteries with upwards of 5000 brethren who all followed
the Sarvastivada and the "gradual teaching," which probably
means the Hinayana as opposed to the sudden illumination
caused by Mahayanist revelation. The pilgrim differed from his
hosts on the matter of diet and would not join them in eating
meat. But he admits that the monks were strict according to
their lights and that the monasteries were centres of learning.
In 658 Kucha was made the seat of government for the
territory known as the Four Garrisons. During the next century
it sent several missions to the Chinese and about 788 was visited
by Wu-K'ung, who indicates that music and Buddhism were
still flourishing. He mentions an Abbot who spoke with equal
fluency the language of the country, Chinese and Sanskrit.
Nothing is known about Kucha from this date until the eleventh
century when we again hear of missions to the Chinese Court.
The annals mention them under the heading of Uigurs, but
Buddhism seems not to have been extinct for even in 1096 the
Envoy presented to the Emperor a jade Buddha. According to
Hsiian Chuang's account the Buddhism of Karashahr (Yenki)
was the same as that of Kucha and its monasteries enjoyed the
same reputation for strictness and learning.
Turfan is an oasis containing the ruins of several cities and
possibly different sites were used as the capital at different
periods. But the whole area is so small that such differences
can be of little importance. The name Turfan appears to be
modern. The Ming Annals1 state that this city lies in the
land of ancient Ch'e-shih (or Kii-shih) called Kao Ch'ang in the
time of the Sui. This name was abolished by the T'ang but
restored by the Sung.
The principal city now generally known as Chotscho seems
to be identical with Kao Ch'ang2 and Idiqutshahri and is called
by Mohammedans Apsus or Ephesus, a curious designation
connected with an ancient sacred site renamed the Cave of the
Seven Sleepers. Extensive literary remains have been found in
the oasis; they include works in Sanskrit, Chinese, and various
Iranian and Turkish idioms but also in two dialects of so-called
1 Quoted by Bretschneider, Mediaeval Researches, n. 189.
2 Pelliot, J.A. 1912, I. p. 579, suggests that Chotscho or Qoco is the Turkish
equivalent of Kao Ch'ang ift T'ang pronunciation, the nasal being omitted.
206 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
Tokharian. Blue-eyed, red-haired and red-bearded people are
frequently portrayed on the walls of Turfan.
But the early history of this people and of their civilization
is chiefly a matter of theory. In the Han period1 there was a
kingdom called Kii-shih or Kiii-shih, with two capitals. It was
destroyed in 60 B.C. by the Chinese general Cheng-Chi and eight
small principalities were formed in its place. In the fourth and
fifth centuries A.D. Turfan had some connection with two
ephemeral states which arose in Kansu under the names of Hou
Liang and Pei Liang. The former was founded by Lii-Kuang,
the general who, as related above, took Kucha. He fell foul of
a tribe in his territory called Chu-ch'ii, described as belonging
to the Hsiung-nu. Under their chieftain Meng-hsun, who
devoted his later years to literature and Buddhism, this tribe
took a good deal of territory from the Hou Liang, in Turkestan
as well as in Kansu, and called their state Pei Liang. It was
conquered by the Wei dynasty in 439 and two members of the
late reigning house determined to try their fortune in Turfan
and ruled there successively for about twenty years. An Chou,
the second of these princes, died in 480 and his fame survives
because nine years after his death a temple to Maitreya was
dedicated in his honour with a long inscription in Chinese.
Another line of Chinese rulers, bearing the family name of
Ch'iu, established themselves at Kao-ch'ang in 507 and under
the Sui dynasty one of them married a Chinese princess. Turfan
paid due homage to the T'ang dynasty on its accession but later
it was found that tributary missions coming from the west to
the Chinese court were stopped there and the close relations of
its king with the western Turks inspired alarm. Accordingly it
was destroyed by the imperial forces in 640. This is confirmed
by the record of Hsiian Chuang. In his biography there is a
description of his reception by the king of Kao-ch'ang on his
outward journey. But in the account of his travels written after
his return he speaks of the city as no longer existent.
Nevertheless the political and intellectual life of the oasis
was not annihilated. It was conquered by the Uigurs at an
uncertain date, but they were established there in the eighth
and ninth centuries and about 750 their Khan adopted Manichae-
ism as the state religion. The many manuscripts in Sogdian and
1 Chavannes, Tou-kiue Occidentaux, p. 101.
xu] CENTRAL ASIA 207
other Persian dialects found at Turfan show that it had an old
and close connection with the west. It is even possible that
Mani may have preached there himself but it does not appear
that his teaching became influential until about 700 A.D. The
presence of Nestorianism is also attested. Tibetan influence too
must have affected Turfan in the eighth and ninth centuries for
many Tibetan documents have been found there although it
seems to have been outside the political sphere of Tibet. About
843 this Uigur Kingdom was destroyed by the Kirghiz.
Perhaps the massacres of Buddhist priests, clearly indicated
by vaults filled with skeletons still wearing fragments of the
monastic robe, occurred in this period. But Buddhism was not
extinguished and lingered here longer than in other parts of the
Tarim basin. Even in 1420 the people of Turfan were Buddhists
and the Ming Annals say that at Huo-chou (or Kara-Khojo)
there were more Buddhist temples than dwelling houses.
Let us now turn to Khotan1. This was the ancient as well as
the modern name of the principal city in the southern part of
the Tarim basin but was modified in Chinese to Yii-t'ien, in
Sanskrit to Kustana2. The Tibetan equivalent is Li-yul, the land
of Li, but no explanation of this designation is forthcoming.
Traditions respecting the origin of Khotan are preserved in
the travels of Hsiian Chuang and also in the Tibetan scriptures,
some of which are expressly said to be translations from the
language of Li. These traditions are popular legends but they
agree in essentials and appear to contain a kernel of important
truth namely that Khotan was founded by two streams of
colonization coming from China and from India3, the latter being
somehow connected with Asoka. It is remarkable that the
introduction of Buddhism is attributed not to these original
colonists but to a later missionary who, according to Hsiian
Chuang, came from Kashmir4.
\ For the history of Khotan see Remusat, Ville de Khotan, 1820, and Stein's
great work Ancient Khotan, especially chapter vn. For the Tibetan traditions see
Rockhill, Life of the Buddha, pp. 230 ff.
a Ku-stana seems to have been a learned perversion of the name, to make it
mean breast of the earth.
3 The combination is illustrated by the Sino-Kharoshthi coins with a legend in
Chinese on the obverse and in Prakrit on the reverse. See Stein, Ancient Khotant
p. 204. But the coins are later than 73 A.D.
4 The Tibetan text gives the date of conversion as the reign of King Vijayasam-
bhava, 170 years after the foundation of Khotan.
208 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
This traditional connection with India is confirmed by the
discovery of numerous documents written in Kharoshthi
characters and a Prakrit dialect. Their contents indicate that
this Prakrit was the language of common life and they were
found in one heap with Chinese documents dated 269 A.D. The
presence of this alphabet and language is not adequately ex
plained by the activity of Buddhist missionaries for in Khotan,
as in other parts of Asia, the concomitants of Buddhism are
Sanskrit and the Brahmi alphabet.
There was also Iranian influence in Khotan. It shows itself
in art and has left indubitable traces in the language called by
some Nordarisch, but when the speakers of that language reached
the oasis or what part they played there, we do not yet know.
As a consequence of Chang Ch'ien's mission mentioned above,
Khotan sent an Embassy to the Chinese Court in the reign of
Wu-ti (140-87 B.C.) and the T'ang Annals state that its kings
handed down the insignia of Imperial investiture from that time
onwards. There seems however to have been a dynastic revolu
tion about 60 A.D. and it is possible that the Vijaya line of
kings, mentioned in various Tibetan works, then began to reign1.
Khotan became a powerful state but submitted to the conquering
arms of Pan-Ch'ao and perhaps was subsequently subdued by
Kanishka. As the later Han dynasty declined, it again became
strong but continued to send embassies to the Imperial Court.
There is nothing more to mention until the visit of Fa-Hsien in
400. He describes "the pleasant and prosperous kingdom " with
evident gusto. There were some tens of thousands of monks
mostly foUowers of the Mahayana and in the country, where the
homes of the people were scattered "like stars " about the oases,
each house had a small stupa before the door. He stopped in
a well ordered convent with 3000 monks and mentions a
magnificent establishment called The King's New Monastery.
He also describes a great car festival which shows the Indian
colour of Khotanese religion. Perhaps Fa-Hsien and Hsiian
Chuang unduly emphasize ecclesiastical features, but they also
did not hesitate to say when they thought things unsatisfactory
and their praise shows that Buddhism was flourishing.
In the fifth and sixth centuries Khotan passed through
troublous times and was attacked by the Tanguts, Juan-Juan
1 See Sten Konow in J.R.A.S. 1914, p. 345.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 209
and White Huns. Throughout this stormy period missions were
sent at intervals to China to beg for help. The pilgrim Sung Ytin1
traversed the oasis in 519. His account of the numerous banners
bearing Chinese inscriptions hung up in the temple of Han-mo
proves that though the political influence of China was weak,
she was still in touch with the Tarim basin.
When the T'ang effectively asserted their suzerainty in
Central Asia, Khotan was included in the Four Garrisons. The
T'ang Annals while repeating much which is found in earlier
accounts, add some points of interest, for they say that the
Khotanese revere the God of Heaven (Hsien shen) and also the
Law of Buddha2. This undoubtedly means that there were
Zoroastrians as well as Buddhists, which is not mentioned in
earlier periods. The annals also mention that the king's house
was decorated with pictures and that his family name was Wei
Ch'ih. This may possibly be a Chinese rendering of Vijaya, the
Sanskrit name or title which according to Tibetan sources was
borne by all the sovereigns of Khotan.
Hsiian Chuang broke his return journey at Khotan in 644.
He mentions the fondness of the people for music and says
that their language differed from that of other countries. The
Mahayana was the prevalent sect but the pilgrim stopped in a
monastery of the Sarvastivadins3. He describes several sites in
the neighbourhood, particularly the Gosringa or Cow-horn
mountain4, supposed to have been visited by the Buddha.
Though he does not mention Zoroastrians, he notices that the
people of P'i-mo near Khotan were not Buddhists.
About 674 the king of Khotan did personal homage at the
Chinese Court. The Emperor constituted his territory into a
government called P'i-sha after the deity P'i-sha-men or
Vaisravana and made him responsible for its administration.
Another king did homage between 742 and 755 and received an
imperial princess as his consort. Chinese political influence was
effective until the last decade of the eighth century but after
790 the conquests of the Tibetans put an end to it and there is
1 See Stein, Ancient Khotan, pp. 170, 456.
2 Chavannes, Tou-kiue, p. 125, cf. pp. 121 and 170. For Hsicn shen see Giles's
Chinese Diet. No. 4477.
3 Beal, Life, p. 205.
4 Identified by Stein with Kohmari Hill which is still revered by Mohammedans
as a sacred spot.
210 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
no mention of Khotan in the Chinese Annals for about 150 years.
Numerous Tibetan manuscripts and inscriptions found at Endere
testify to these conquests. The rule of the Uigurs who replaced
Tibet as the dominant power in Turf an and the northern Tarim
basin does not appear to have extended to Khotan.
It is not till 938 that we hear of renewed diplomatic relations
with China. The Imperial Court received an embassy from
Khotan and deemed it of sufficient importance to despatch a
special mission in return. Eight other embassies were sent to
China in the tenth century and at least three of them were
accompanied by Buddhist priests. Their object was probably to
solicit help against the attacks of Mohammedans. No details
are known as to the Mohammedan conquest but it apparently
took place between 970 and 1009 after a long struggle.
Another cultural centre of the Tarim basin must have existed
in the oases near Lob-nor where Miran and a nameless site to
the north of the lake have been investigated by Stein. They
have yielded numerous Tibetan documents, but also fine remains
of Gandharan art and Prakrit documents written in the Kharo-
shthi character. Probably the use of this language and alphabet
was not common further east, for though a Kharoshthi fragment
was found by Stein in an old Chinese frontier post1 the library
of Tun-huang yielded no specimens of them. That library, how
ever, dating apparently from the epoch of the T'ang, contained
some Sanskrit Buddhist literature and was rich in Sogdian,
Turkish, and Tibetan manuscripts.
Ample as are the materials for the study of Buddhism in
Central Asia those hitherto published throw little light on the
time and manner of its introduction. At present much is
hypothetical for we have few historical data — such as the career
of Kumarajiva and the inscription on the Temple of Maitreya
at Turfan — but a great mass of literary and artistic evidence
from which various deductions can be drawn.
It is clear that there was constant intercourse with India and
the Oxus region. The use of Prakrit and of various Iranian
idioms points to actual colonization from these two quarters and
1 Desert Cathay, n. p. 114.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 211
it is probable that there were two streams of Buddhism, for the
Chinese pilgrims agree that Shan-shan (near Lob-nor), Turfan,
Kucha and Kashgar were Hinayanist, whereas Yarkand and
Khotan were Mahayanist. Further, much of the architecture,
sculpture and painting is simply Gandharan and the older
specimens can hardly be separated from the Gandharan art of
India by any considerable interval. This art was in part coeval
with Kanishka, and if his reign began in 78 A. D. or later the first
specimens of it cannot be much anterior to the Christian era. The
earliest Chinese notices of the existence of Buddhism in Kashgar
and Kucha date from 400 (Fa-Hsien) and the third century
(Annals of the Tsin, 265-317) respectively, but they speak of it
as the national religion and munificently endowed, so that it
may well have been established for some centuries. In Turfan
the first definite record is the dedication of a temple to Maitreya
in 469 but probably the history of religion there was much the
same as in Kucha.
It is only in Khotan that tradition, if not history, gives a
more detailed narrative. This is found in the works of the Chinese
pilgrims Hsiian Chuang and Sung Yiin and also in four Tibetan
works which are apparently translated from the language of
Khotan1. As the story is substantially the same in all, it merits
consideration and may be accepted as the account current in
the literary circles of Khotan about 500 A.D. It relates that the
Indians who were part-founders of that city in the reign of
Asoka were not Buddhists2 arid the Tibetan version places the
conversion with great apparent accuracy 170 years after the
foundation of the kingdom and 404 after the death of the
Buddha. At that time a monk named Vairocana, who was an
incarnation of Manjusri, came to Khotan, according to Hsiian
Chuang from Kashmir3. He is said to have introduced a new
language as well as Mahayanism, and the king, Vijayasambhava,
built for him the great monastery of Tsarma outside the capital,
which was miraculously supplied with relics. We cannot be sure
1 See Walters, Yilan Chwang, n. p. 296. Seal, Life. p. 205. Chavannes, "Voyage
de Sung Yun." B.E.F.E.O. 1903, 395, and for the Tibetan sources, Rockhill, Life
of the Buddha, chap. vin. One of the four Tibetan works is expressly stated to be
translated from Khotanese.
2 The Tibetan Chronicles of Li-Yul say that they worshipped Vais"ravana and
Srimahadevi.
3 A monk from Kashmir called Vairocana was also active in Tibet about 750 A.D.
212 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
that the Tibetan dates were intended to have the meaning they
would bear for our chronology, that is about 80 B.C., but if they
had, there is nothing improbable in the story, for other traditions
assert that Buddhism was preached in Kashmir in the time of
Asoka. On the other hand, there was a dynastic change in
Khotan about 60 A.D. and the monarch who then came to the
throne may have been Vijayasambhava.
According to the Tibetan account no more monasteries were
built for seven reigns. The eighth king built two, one on the
celebrated Gosirsha or Gosringa mountain. In the eleventh reign
after Vijayasambhava, more chaityas and viharas were built in
connection with the introduction of the silkworm industry.
Subsequently, but without any clear indication of date, the
introduction of the Mahasanghika and Sarvastivadin schools is
mentioned.
The Tibetan annals also mention several persecutions of
Buddhism in Khotan as a result of which the monks fled to
Tibet and Bruzha. Their chronology is confused but seems to
make these troubles coincide with a persecution in Tibet,
presumably that of Lang-dar-ma. If so, the persecution in
Khotan must have been due to the early attacks of Moham
medans which preceded the final conquest in about 1000 A.D.1
Neither the statements of the Chinese annalists about Central
Asia nor its own traditions prove that Buddhism flourished there
before the Christian era. But they do not disprove it and even
if the dream of the Emperor Ming-Ti and the consequent
embassy are dismissed as legends, it is admitted that Buddhism
penetrated to China by land not later than the early decades of
that era. It must therefore have been known in Central Asia
previously and perhaps Khotan was the place where it first
flourished.
It is fairly certain that about 160 B.C. the Yiieh-chih moved
westwards and settled in the lands of the Oxus after ejecting
the Sakas, but like many warlike nomads they may have oscil
lated between the east and west, recoiling if they struck against
a powerful adversary in either quarter. Le Coq has put forward
an interesting theory of their origin. It is that they were one
of the tribes known as Scythians in Europe and at an unknown
1 It is also possible that Buddhism had a bad time in the fifth and sixth centuries
at the hands of the Tanguts, Juan- Juan and White Huns.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 213
period moved eastwards from southern Russia, perhaps leaving
traces of their presence in the monuments still existing in the
district of Minussinsk. He also identifies them with the red-
haired, blue-eyed people of the Chotscho frescoes and the
speakers of the Tokharian language. But these interesting
hypotheses cannot be regarded as proved. It is, however, certain
that the Yiieh-chih invaded India1, founded the Kushan Empire
and were intimately connected (especially in the person of their
great king Kanishka) with Gandharan art and the form of
Buddhism which finds expression in it. Now the Chinese
pilgrim Fa-Hsien (c. 400) found the Hinayana prevalent in
Shan-shan, Kucha, Kashgar, Osh, Udyana and Gandhara.
Hsiian Chuang also notes its presence in Balkh, Bamian, and
Persia. Both notice that the Mahayana was predominant in
Khotan though not to the exclusion of the other school. It
would appear that in modern language the North- West Frontier
province of India, Afghanistan, Badakshan (with small adjoining
states), the Pamir regions and the Tarim basin all accepted
Gandharan Buddhism and at one time formed part of the
Kushan Empire.
It is probably to this Gandharan Buddhism that the Chinese
pilgrims refer when they speak of the Sarvastivadin school of
the Hinayana as prevalent. It is known that this school was
closely connected with the Council of Kanishka. Its meta
physics were decidedly not Mahayanist but there is no reason
why it should have objected to the veneration of such Bodhisat-
tvas as are portrayed in the Gandhara sculptures. An interesting
passage in the life of Hsiian Chuang relates that he had a dispute
in Kucha with a Mahayanist doctor who maintained that the
books called Tsa-hsin, Chii-she, and P'i-sha were sufficient for
salvation, and denounced the Yogasastra as heretical, to the
great indignation of the pilgrim2 whose practical definition of
Mahayanism seems to have been the acceptance of this work,
1 The Later Han Annals say that the Hindus are weaker than the Yiieh-chih
and are not accustomed to fight because they are Buddhists. (See T'oung Poo, 1910,
p. 192.) This seems to imply that the Yiieh-chih were not Buddhists. But even
this was the real view of the compiler of the Annals we do not know from what
work he took this statement nor to what date it refers.
a See Beal, Life, p. 39, Julien, p. 50. The books mentioned are apparently the
Samyuktabhidharmahridaya (Nanjio, 1287), Abhidharma Kosha (Nanjio, 1267),
Abhidharma-Vibhasha (Nanjio, 1264) and Yogacaryabhumi (Nanjio, 1170).
214 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
reputed to have been revealed by Maitreya to Asanga. Such a
definition and division might leave in the Hinayana much that
we should not expect to find there.
The Mahayanist Buddhism of Khotan was a separate stream
and Hsiian Chuang says that it came from Kashmir. Though
Kashmir is not known as a centre of Mahay anism, yet it would
be a natural route for men and ideas passing from any part of
India to Khotan.
5
The Tarim basin and the lands of the Oxus1 were a region
where different religions and cultures mingled and there is no
difficulty in supposing that Buddhism might have amalgamated
there with Zoroastrianism or Christianity. The question is
whether there is any evidence for such amalgamation. It is
above all in its relations with China that Central Asia appears
as an exchange of religions. It passed on to China the art and
thought of India, perhaps adding something of its own on the
way and then received them back from China with further
additions2. It certainly received a great deal from Persia: the
number of manuscripts in different Iranian languages puts this
beyond doubt. Equally undoubted is its debt to India, but it
would be of even greater interest to determine whether Indian
Buddhism owes a debt to Central Asia and to define that debt.
For Tibet the relation was mutual. The Tibetans occupied the
Tarim basin during a century and according to their traditions
monks went from Khotan to instruct Tibet.
The Buddhist literature discovered in Central Asia represents,
like its architecture, several periods. We have first of all the
fragments of the Sanskrit Agamas, found at Turfan, Tun-huang,
and in the Khotan district : fragments of the dramas and poems
of Asvaghosha from Turfan : the Pratimoksha of the Sarvasti-
vadins from Kucha and numerous versions of the anthology
called Dharmapada or Udana. The most interesting of these is
the Prakrit version found in the neighbourhood of Khotan, but
fragments in Tokharian and Sanskrit have also been discovered.
1 The importance of the Tarim basin is due to the excellent preservation of its
records and its close connection with China. The Oxus regions suffered more from
Mohammedan iconoclasm, but they may have been at least equally important for
the history of Buddhism.
2 E.g. see the Maitreya inscription of Turfan.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 215
All this literature probably represents the canon as it existed in
the epoch of Kanishka and of the Gandharan sculptures, or at
least the older stratum in that canon.
The newer stratum is composed of Mahayanist sutras of
which there is a great abundance, though no complete list has
been published1. The popularity of the Prajna-paramita, the
Lotus and the Suvarna-prabhasa is attested. The last was
translated into both Uigur (from the Chinese) and into "Iranien
Oriental." To a still later epoch2 belong the Dharanis or magical
formulae which have been discovered in considerable quantities.
Sylvain LeVi has shown that some Mahayanist sutras were
either written or re-edited in Central Asia3. Not only do they
contain lists of Central Asian place-names but these receive an
importance which can be explained only by the local patriotism
of the writer or the public which he addressed. Thus the Surya-
garbha sutra praises the mountain of Gosringa near Khotan
much as the Puranas celebrate in special chapters called
Mahatmyas the merits of some holy place. Even more remark
able is a list in the Chandragarbha sutra. The Buddha in one of
the great transformation scenes common in these works sends
forth rays of light which produce innumerable manifestations of
Buddhas. India (together with what is called the western region)
has a total of 813 manifestations, whereas Central Asia and China
have 971. Of these the whole Chinese Empire has 255, the
kingdoms of Khotan and Kucha have 180 and 99 respectively,
but only 60 are given to Benares and 30 to Magadha. Clearly
Central Asia was a very important place for the author of this
list4.
One of the Turkish sutras discovered at Turfan contains a
discourse of the Buddha to the merchants Trapusha and Bhallika
who are described as Turks and Indra is called Kormusta, that
is Hormuzd. In another Brahma is called Asrua, identified as
the Iranian deity Zervan5. In these instances no innovation of
doctrine is implied but when the world of spirits and men
1 Or at least is not accessible to me here in Hongkong, 1914.
2 I do not mean to say that all Dharanis are late.
8 It is even probable that apocryphal Sutras were composed in Central Asia.
See Pelliot in Melanges d* Indianisme, Sylvain Levi, p. 329.
4 The list of manifestations in Jambudvipa enumerates 56 kingdoms. All cannot
be identified with certainty, but apparently less than half are within India proper
8 See Bibl Budd. xn. pp. 44, 46, xiv. p. 45.
216 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
becomes Central Asian instead of Indian, it is only natural that
the doctrine too should take on some local colour1.
Thus the dated inscription of the temple erected in Turfan
A.D. 469 is a mixture of Chinese ideas, both Confucian and
Taoist, with Indian. It is in honour of Maitreya, a Bodhisattva
known to the Hinayana, but here regarded not merely as the
future Buddha but as an active and benevolent deity who
manifests himself in many forms2, a view which also finds
expression in the tradition that the works of Asanga were
revelations made by him. Akasagarbha and the Dharmakaya
are mentioned. But the inscription also speaks of heaven (t'ien)
as appointing princes, and of the universal law (tao) and it
contains several references to Chinese literature.
Even more remarkable is the admixture of Buddhism in
Manicheeism. The discoveries made in Central Asia make
intelligible the Chinese edict of 739 which accuses the Mani-
chseans of falsely taking the name of Buddhism and deceiving
the people3. This is not surprising for Mani seems to have taught
that Zoroaster, Buddha and Christ had preceded him as
apostles, and in Buddhist countries his followers naturally
adopted words and symbols familiar to the people. Thus
Manichsean deities are represented like Bodlu'sattvas sitting
cross-legged on a lotus; Mani receives the epithet Ju-lai or
Tathagata : as in Amida's Paradise, there are holy trees bearing
flowers which enclose beings styled Buddha: the construction
and phraseology of Manichsean books resemble those of a
Buddhist Sutra4. In some ways the association of Taoism and
Manichseism was even closer, for the Hu-hua-ching identifies
Buddha with Lao-tzu and Mani, and two Manichaean books have
passed into the Taoist Canon6.
1 The Turkish sutras repeatedly style the Buddha God (t'angri) or God of Gods.
The expression devatideva is applied to him in Sanskrit, but the Turkish phrases
are more decided and frequent. The Sanskrit phrase may even be due to Iranian
influence.
2 An Chou, the Prince to whose memory the temple was dedicated, seems to
be regarded as a manifestation of Maitreya.
3 J.A. 1913, i. p. 154. The series of three articles by Chavannes and Pelliot
entitled "Un traite Manicheen retrouve en Chine" (J.A. 1911, 1913) is a most
valuable contribution to our knowledge of Manichseism in Central Asia and China.
4 E.g. see J.A. 1911, pp. 509 and 589. See also Le Coq, Sitzb. preuss. Akad. der
Wiss. 48, 1909, 1202-1218.
6 J.A. 1913, i. pp. 116 and 132.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 217
Nestorian Christianity also existed in the Tarim basin and
became prominent in the seventh century. This agrees with the
record of its introduction into China by A-lo-pen in 635 A.D.,
almost simultaneously with Zoroastrianism. Fragments of the
New Testament have been found at Turfan belonging mostly
to the ninth century but one to the fifth. The most interesting
document for the history of Nestorianism is still the monument
discovered at Si-ngan-fu and commonly called the Nestorian
stone1. It bears a long inscription partly in Chinese and partly
in Syriac composed by a foreign priest called Adam or in Chinese
King-Tsing giving a long account of the doctrines and history
of Nestorianism. Not only does this inscription contain many
Buddhist phrases (such as Seng and Ssu for Christian priests
and monasteries) but it deliberately omits all mention of the
crucifixion and merely says in speaking of the creation that God
arranged the cardinal points in the shape of a cross. This can
hardly be explained as due to incomplete statement for it reviews
in some detail the life of Christ and its results. The motive of
omission must be the feeling that redemption by his death was
not an acceptable doctrine2. It is interesting to find that King-
Tsing consorted with Buddhist priests and even set about
translating a sutra from the Hu language. Takakusu quotes a
passage from one of the catalogues of the Japanese Tripitaka3
which states that he was a Persian and collaborated with a monk
of Kapisa called Prajfia.
We have thus clear evidence not only of the co-existence of
Buddhism and Christianity but of friendly relations between
Buddhist and Christian priests. The Emperor's objection to such
commixture of religions was unusual and probably due to zeal
for pure Buddhism. It is possible that in western China and
Central Asia Buddhism, Taoism, Manichseism, Nestorianism and
Zoroastrianism all borrowed from one another just as the first
two do in China to-day and Buddhism may have become
modified by this contact. But proof of it is necessary. In most
places Buddhism was in strength and numbers the most im-
1 See especially Havret, "La stele chre"tienne de Si-ngan-fu" in Varietcs Sino
logues, pp. 7, 12 and 20.
8 See Havret, I.e. in. p. 54, for some interesting remarks respecting the unwilling
ness of the Nestorians and also of the Jesuits to give publicity to the crucifixion.
8 See Takakusu, I-tsing, pp. 169, 223, and Toung Pao, 1896, p. 689.
218 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
portant of all these religions and older than all except Zoroas-
trianism. Its contact with Manichseism may possibly date from
the life of Mani,but apparently the earliest Christian manuscripts
found in Central Asia are to be assigned to the fifth century.
On the other hand the Chinese Tripitaka contains many
translations which bear an earlier date than this and are
ascribed to translators connected with the Yueh-chih. I see no
reason to doubt the statements that the Happy Land sutra and
Prajna-paramita (Nanjio, 25, 5) were translated before 200 A.D.
and portions of the Avatamsaka and Lotus (Nanjio, 100, 103,
138) before 300 A.D. But if so, the principal doctrines of
Mahayanist Buddhism must have been known in Khotan1 and
the lands of Oxus before we have definite evidence for the
presence of Christianity there.
Zoroastrianism may however have contributed to the de
velopment and transformation of Buddhism for the two were
certainly in contact. Thus the coins of Kanishka bear figures of
Persian deities2 more frequently than images of the Buddha:
we know from Chinese sources that the two religions co-existed
at Khotan and Kashgar and possibly there are hostile references
to Buddhism (Buiti and Gaotema the heretic) in the Persian
scriptures8.
It is true that we should be cautious in fancying that we
detect a foreign origin for the Mahayana. Different as it may
be from the Buddhism of the Pali Canon, it is an Indian not an
exotic growth. Deification, pantheism, the creation of radiant
or terrible deities, extreme forms of idealism or nihilism in
metaphysics are tendencies manifested in Hinduism as clearly
as in Buddhism. Even the doctrine of the Buddha's three
bodies, which sounds like an imitation of the Christian Trinity,
has roots in the centuries before the Christian era. But late
Buddhism indubitably borrowed many personages from the
Hindu pantheon, and when we find Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
such as Amitabha, Avalokita, Manjusri and Kshitigarbha with
out clear antecedents in India we may suspect that they are
borrowed from some other mythology, and if similar figures
were known to Zoroastrianism, that may be their source.
1 Turfan and Kucha are spoken of as being mainly Hinayanist.
a See Stein, Zoroastrian deities on I ndo- Scythian coins, 1887.
8 See 8,B.E. iv. (Vendidad) pp. 145, 209; xxm. p. 184, v. p. in.
XLI] CENTRAL ASIA 219
The most important of them is Amitabha. He is strangely
obscure in the earlier art and literature of Indian Buddhism.
Some of the nameless Buddha figures in the Gandharan sculp
tures may represent him, but this is not proved and the works
of Griinwedel and Foucher suggest that compared with Avalokita
and Tara his images are late and not numerous. In the earlier
part of the Lotus1 he is only just mentioned as if he were of no
special importance. He is also mentioned towards the end of
the Awakening of Faith ascribed to Asvaghosha, but the author
ship of the work cannot be regarded as certain and, if it were,
the passage stands apart from the main argument and might
well be an addition. Again in the Mahayana-sutralankara2 of
Asanga, his paradise is just mentioned.
Against these meagre and cursory notices in Indian literature
may be set the fact that two translations of the principal
Amidist scripture into Chinese were made in the second century
A.D. and four in the third, all by natives of Central Asia. The
inference that the worship of Amitabha flourished in Central
Asia some time before the earliest of these translations is
irresistible.
According to Taranatha, the Tibetan historian of Buddhism3,
this worship goes back to Saraha or Rahulabhadra. He was
reputed to have been the teacher of Nagarjuna and a great
magician. He saw Amitabha in the land of Dhingkota and died
with his face turned towards Sukhavati. I have found no
explanation of the name Dhingkota but the name Saraha does
not sound Indian. He is said to have been a sudra and he is
represented in Tibetan pictures with a beard and topknot and
holding an arrow4 in his hand. In all this there is little that
can be called history, but still it appears that the first person
whom tradition connects with the worship of Amitabha was
of low caste, bore a foreign name, saw the deity in an unknown
country, and like many tantric teachers was represented as
totally unlike a Buddhist monk. It cannot be proved that he
came from the lands of the Oxus or Turkestan, but such an
1 Chap. vii. The notices in Chaps, xxn. and xxiv. are rather more detailed but
also later.
2 xn. p. 23.
3 Transl. Schiefner, pp. 93, 105 and 303, and Pander's Pantheon, No. 11. But
Taranatha also says that he was Aryadeva's pupil.
4 Sara in Sanskrit.
E. m. 15
220 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
origin would explain much in the tradition. On the other hand,
there would be no difficulty in accounting for Zoroastrian
influence at Peshawar or Takkasila within the frontiers of India.
Somewhat later Vasubandhu is stated to have preached faith
in Amitabha but it does not appear that this doctrine ever had
in India a tithe of the importance which it obtained in the Far
East.
The essential features of Amidist doctrine are that there is
a paradise of light belonging to a benevolent deity and that
the good1 who invoke his name will be led thither. Both
features are found in Zoroastrian writings. The highest heaven
(following after the paradises of good thoughts, good words and
good deeds) is called Boundless Light or Endless Light2. Both
this region and its master, Ahuramazda, are habitually spoken
of in terms implying radiance and glory. Also it is a land of
song, just as Amitabha's paradise re-echoes with music and
pleasant sounds3. Prayers can win this paradise and Ahura
Mazda and the Archangels will come and show the way thither
to the pious4. Further whoever recites the Ahuna-vairya
formula, Ahura Mazda will bring his soul to "the lights of
heaven5," and although, so far as I know, it is not expressly
stated that the repetition of Ahura Mazda's name leads to
paradise, yet the general efficacy of his names as invocations is
clearly affirmed6.
Thus all the chief features of Amitabha's paradise are
Persian: only his method of instituting it by making a vow is
Buddhist. It is true that Indian imagination had conceived
numerous paradises, and that the early Buddhist legend tells of
the Tushita heaven. But Sukhavati is not like these abodes of
bliss. It appears suddenly in the history of Buddhism as some
thing exotic, grafted adroitly on the parent trunk but sometimes
overgrowing it7.
1 The doctrine of salvation by faith alone seems to be later. The longer and
apparently older version of the Sukhavati Vyuha insists on good works as a con
dition of entry into Paradise.
2 S.B.E. iv. p. 293; ib. xxxra. pp. 317 and 344.
3 It may also be noticed that Ameretat, the Archangel of immortality, presides
over vegetation and that Amida's paradise is full of flowers.
4 S.B.E. xxm. pp. 335-7. 5 S.B.E. xxxi. p. 261.
8 S.B.E. xxm. pp. 21-31 (the Ormasd Yasht).
7 Is it possible that there is any connection between Sukhavati and the land of
Saukavastan, governed by an immortal ruler and located by the Bundehish between
xu] CENTRAL ASIA 221
Avalokita is also connected with Amitabha's paradise. His
figure, though its origin is not clear, assumes distinct and con
spicuous proportions in India at a fairly early date. There
appears to be no reason for associating him specially with
Central Asia. On the other hand later works describe him as
the spiritual son or reflex of Amitabha. This certainly recalls
the Iranian idea of the Fravashi defined as "a spiritual being
conceived as a part of a man's personality but existing before
he is born and in independence of him: it can also belong to
divine beings1." Although India offers in abundance both divine
incarnations and explanations thereof yet none of these describe
the relationship between a Dhyani Buddha and his Boddhisattva
so well as the Zoroastrian doctrine of the Fravashi.
S. L6vi has suggested that the Bodhisattva Manjusri is of
Tokharian origin2. His worship at Wu-tai-shan in Shan-si is
ancient and later Indian tradition connected him with China.
Local traditions also connect him with Nepal, Tibet, and Khotan,
and he is sometimes represented as the first teacher of civili
zation or religion. But although his Central Asian origin is
eminently probable, I do not at present see any clear proof of it.
The case of the Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha3 is similar. He
appears to have been known but not prominent in India in the
fourth century A.D.: by the seventh century if not earlier his
cult was flourishing in China and subsequently he became in
the Far East a popular deity second only to Kuan-yin. This
popularity was connected with his gradual transformation into
a god of the dead. It is also certain that he was known in Central
Asia4 but whether he first became important there or in China
is hard to decide. The devotion of the Chinese to their dead
suggests that it was among them that he acquired his great
position, but his role as a guide to the next world has a parallel
in the similar benevolent activity of the Zoroastrian angel Srosh.
Turkistan and Chinistan? I imagine there is no etymological relationship, but if
Saukavastan was well known as a land of the blessed it may have influenced the
choice of a significant Sanskrit word with a similar sound.
1 E.R.E. sub voce.
2 J.A. 1912, i. p. 622. Unfortunately only a brief notice of his communication
is given with no details. See also S. Levi, Le Ntpdl, pp. 330 ff.
8 Ti-tsang in Chinese, Jizo in Japanese. See for his history Visser's elaborate
articles in Ostasiatische Ztsft. 1913-1915.
4 He was accepted by the Manichseans as one of the Envoys of Light. J.A.
1911, n. p. 549.
222 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH. xu
One of Central Asia's clearest titles to importance in the
history of the East is that it was the earliest and on the whole
the principal source of Chinese Buddhism, to which I now turn.
Somewhat later, teachers also came to China by sea and still
later, under the Yuan dynasty, Lamaism was introduced direct
from Tibet. But from at least the beginning of our era onwards,
monks went eastwards from Central Asia to preach and translate
the scriptures and it was across Central Asia that Chinese
pilgrims went to India in search of the truth.
CHAPTEK XLII
CHINA
Prefatory note.
FOB the transcription of Chinese words I use the modern Peking
pronunciation as represented in Giles's Dictionary. It may be justly
objected that of all dialects Pekingese is perhaps the furthest removed
from ancient Chinese and therefore unsuited for historical studies
and also that Wade's system of transcription employed by Giles is
open to serious criticism. But, on the other hand, I am not competent
to write according to the pronunciation of Nanking or Canton all
the names which appear in these chapters and, if I were, it would
not be a convenience to my readers. Almost all English works of
reference about China use the forms registered in Giles's Dictionary
or near approximations to them, and any variation would produce
difficulty and confusion. French and German methods of transcribing
Chinese differ widely from Wade's and unfortunately there seems to
be no prospect of sinologues agreeing on any international system.
INTRODUCTORY.
THE study of Chinese Buddhism is interesting but difficult1.
Here more than in other Asiatic countries we feel that the words
and phrases natural to a European language fail to render justly
the elementary forms of thought, the simplest relationships.
But Europeans are prone to exaggerate the mysterious, topsy
turvy character of the Chinese mind. Such epithets are based
on the assumption that human thought and conduct normally
conform to reason and logic, and that when such conformity is
wanting the result must be strange and hardly human, or at
least such as no respectable European could expect or approve.
But the assumption is wrong. In no country with which I am
1 For Chinese Buddhism see especially Johnston, Chinese Buddhism, 1913 (cited
as Johnston). Much information about the popular side of Buddhism and Taoism
may be found in Recherches sur les superstitions en Chine par le Pere Henri Dore,
10 vols. 1911-1916, Shanghai (cited as Dore).
224 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
acquainted are logic and co-ordination of ideas more wanting
than in the British Isles. This is not altogether a fault, for human
systems are imperfect and the rigorous application of any one
imperfect system must end in disaster. But the student of
Asiatic psychology must begin his task by recognising that in
the West and East alike, the thoughts of nations, though not
always of individuals, are a confused mosaic where the pattern
has been lost and a thousand fancies esteemed at one time or
another as pleasing, useful or respectable are crowded into the
available space. This is especially true in the matter of religion.
An observer fresh to the subject might find it hard to formulate
the relations to one another and to the Crown of the various
forms of Christianity prevalent in our Empire or to understand
how the English Church can be one body, when some sections
of it are hardly distinguishable from Roman Catholicism and
others from non-conformist sects. In the same way Chinese
religion offers startling combinations of incongruous rites and
doctrines: the attitude of the laity and of the government to
the different churches is not to be defined in ordinary European
terms and yet if one examines the practice of Europe, it will
often throw light on the oddities of China.
The difficulty of finding a satisfactory equivalent in Chinese
for the word God is well known and has caused much discussion
among missionaries. Confucius inherited and handed on a
worship of Heaven which inspired some noble sayings and may
be admitted to be monotheism. But it was a singularly im
personal monotheism and had little to do with popular religion,
being regarded as the prerogative and special cult of the Em
peror. The people selected their deities from a numerous
pantheon of spirits, falling into many classes among which two
stand out clearly, namely, nature spirits and spirits of ancestors.
All these deities, as we must call them for want of a better word,
present odd features, which have had some influence on Chinese
Buddhism. The boundary between the human and the spirit
worlds is slight. Deification and euhemerism are equally
natural to the Chinese. Not only are worthies of every sort
made into gods1, but foreign deities are explained on the same
1 A curious instance of deification is mentioned in Musdon, 1914, p. 61. It
appears that several deceased Jesuits have been deified. For a recent instance of
deification in 1913 see Dore, x. p. 753.
XLH] CHINA 225
principle. Thus Yen-lo (Yama), the king of the dead, is said to
have been a Chinese official of the sixth century A.D. But there
is little mythology. The deities are like the figures on porcelain
vases: all know their appearance and some their names, but
hardly anyone can give a coherent account of them. A poly-
daemonism of this kind is even more fluid than Hinduism : you
may invent any god you like and neglect gods that don't concern
you. The habit of mind which produces sects in India, namely
the desire to exalt one's own deity above others and make him the
All-God, does not exist. No Chinese god inspires such feelings.
The deities of medieval and modern China, including the
spirits recognized by Chinese Buddhism, are curiously mixed
and vague personalities1. Nature worship is not absent, but it
is nature as seen by the fancy of the alchemist and astrologer.
The powers that control nature are also identified with ancient
heroes, but they are mostly heroes of the type of St George and
the Dragon of whom history has little to say, and Chinese respect
for the public service and official rank takes the queer form of
regarding these spirits as celestial functionaries. Thus the gods
have a Ministry of Thunder which supervises the weather and
a Board of Medicine which looks after sickness and health.
The characteristic expression of Chinese popular religion is
not exactly myth or legend but religious romance. A writer
starts from some slender basis of fact and composes an edifying
novel. Thus the well-known story called Hsi-Yu-Chi2 purports
to be an account of Hsiian Chuang's journey to India but, ex
cept that it represents the hero as going there and returning
with copies of the scriptures, it is romance pure and simple, a
1 The spirits called San Kuan ^* It? or San Yuan ^ ."J^j are a £oocl instance
of Chinese deities. The words mean Three Agents or Principles who strictly speaking
have no names: (a) Originally they appear to represent Heaven, Earth and Water.
(6) Then they stand for three periods of the year and the astrological influences
which rule each, (c) As Agents, and more or less analogous to human personalities,
Heaven gives happiness, Earth pardons sins and Water delivers from misfortune.
(d) They are identified with the ancient Emperors Yao, Shun, Yii. (e) They are
also identified with three Censors under the Emperor Li-Wang, B.C. 878-841.
2 3§jS£jm' Hsiian Chuang's own account of his travels bears the slightly
different title of Hsi-Yu-Chi. BlffPtftE' The work noticecl here is attributed
to Chiu Ch'ang Ch'un, a Taoist priest ofthe thirteenth century. It is said to be the
Buddhist book most widely read in Korea where it is printed in the popular script.
An abridged English translation has been published by T. Richard under the title
of A Mission to Heaven.
226 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
fantastic Pilgrim's Progress, the scene of which is sometimes on
earth and sometimes in the heavens. The traveller is accom
panied by allegorical creatures such as a magic monkey, a pig,
and a dragon horse, who have each their own significance and
may be seen represented in Buddhist and Taoist temples even
to-day. So too another writer, starting from the tradition that
Avalokita (or Kuan-Yin) was once a benevolent human being,
set himself to write the life of Kuan-Yin, represented as a
princess endued with every virtue who cheerfully bears cruel
persecution for her devotion to Buddhism. It would be a
mistake to seek in this story any facts throwing light on the
history of Avalokita and his worship. It is a religious novel,
important only because it still finds numerous readers.
It is commonly said that the Chinese belong to three religions,
Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and the saying is not
altogether inaccurate. Popular language speaks of the three
creeds and an ordinary person in the course of his life may take
part in rites which imply a belief in them all1. Indeed the fusion
is so complete that one may justly talk of Chinese religion, mean
ing the jumble of ceremonies and beliefs accepted by the average
man. Yet at the same time it is possible to be an enthusiast
for any one of the three without becoming unconventional.
Of the three religions, Confucianism has a disputable claim
to the title. If the literary classes of China find it sufficient, they
do so only by rejecting the emotional and speculative sides of
religion. The Emperor Wan-li2 made a just epigram when he
said that Confucianism and Buddhism are like the wings of a
bird. Each requires the co-operation of the other. Confucius
was an ethical and political philosopher, not a prophet, hiero-
phant or church founder. As a moralist he stands in the first
rank, and I doubt if either the Gospels or the Pitakas contain
maxims for the life of a good citizen equal to his sayings. But
he ignored that unworldly morality which, among Buddhists
and Christians, is so much admired and so little practised. In
religion he claimed no originality, he brought no revelation, but
1 I am writing immediately after the abolition of the Imperial Government
(1912), and what I say naturally refers to a state of things which is passing away.
But it is too soon to say how the new regime will affect religion. There is an old
saying that China is supported by the three religions as a tripod by three legs.
a Jit f^f strictly speaking the title of his reign 1573-1620.
xui] CHINA 227
he accepted the current ideas of his age and time, though
perhaps he eliminated many popular superstitions. He com
mended the worship of Heaven, which, if vague, still connected
the deity with the moral law, and he enjoined sacrifice to
ancestors and spirits. But all this apparently without any
theory. His definition of wisdom is well known: "to devote
oneself to human duties and keep aloof from spirits while still
respecting them." This is not the utterance of a sceptical states
man, equivalent to "remember the political importance of
religion but keep clear of it, so far as you can." The best
commentary is the statement in the Analects that he seldom
spoke about the will of Heaven, yet such of his utterances about
it as have been preserved are full of awe and submission1.
A certain delicacy made him unwilling to define or discuss the
things for which he felt the highest reverence, and a similar
detached but respectful attitude is still a living constituent
of Chinese society. The scholar and gentleman will not engage
in theological or metaphysical disputes, but he respectfully takes
part in ceremonies performed in honour of such venerated names
as Heaven, Earth and Confucius himself. Less willingly, but
still without remonstrance, he attends Buddhist or Taoist
celebrations.
If it is hard to define the religious element in Confucianism,
it is still harder to define Taoism, but for another reason,
namely, that the word has more than one meaning. In one
sense it is the old popular religion of China, of which Confucius
selected the scholarly and gentlemanly features. Taoism, on
the contrary, rejected no godlings and no legends however
grotesque: it gave its approval to the most extravagant and
material superstitions, especially to the belief that physical
immortality could be insured by drinking an elixir, which proved
fatal to many illustrious dupes. As an organized body it owes
its origin to Chang-Ling (c. 130 A.D.) and his grandson Chang -
Lu2. The sect received its baptism of blood but made terms with
the Chinese Government, one condition being that a member
of the house of Chang should be recognized as its hereditary
1 Compare Anal ix. 1 and xiv. 38. 2. See also Doctrine of the Mean, chap, xvi,
for more positive views about spirits.
2 SS[^ and SH'fP - See De Groot> "Origins of the Taoist Church" in
Trans. Third Congress Hist. Relig. 1908.
228 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Patriarch or Pope1. Rivalry with Buddhism also contributed
to give Taoism something of that consistency in doctrine and
discipline which we associate with the word religion, for in
their desire to show that they were as good as their opponents
the Taoists copied them in numerous and important particulars,
for instance triads of deities, sacred books and monastic in
stitutions.
The power of inventive imitation is characteristic of Taoism2.
In most countries great gods are children of the popular mind.
After long gestation and infancy they emerge as deities bound
to humanity by a thousand ties of blood and place. But the
Taoists, whenever they thought a new deity needful or orna
mental, simply invented him, often with the sanction of an
Imperial Edict. Thus Yii-Ti3, the precious or jade Emperor,
who is esteemed the supreme ruler of the world, was created or
at least brought into notice about 1012 A. D. by the Emperor
Chen Tsung4 who pretended to have correspondence with him.
He is probably an adaptation of Indra and is also identified
with a prince of ancient China, but cannot be called a popular
hero like Rama or Krishna, and has not the same hold on the
affections of the people.
But Taoism is also the name commonly given not only to
this fanciful church but also to the philosophic ideas expounded
in the Tao-te-ching and in the works of Chuang-tzu. The Taoist
priesthood claim this philosophy, but the two have no necessary
connection. Taoism as philosophy represents a current of
thought opposed to Confucianism, compared with which it is
ascetic, mystic and pantheistic, though except in comparison
it does not deserve such epithets. My use of pantheistic in
particular may raise objection, but it seems to me that Tao,
however hard to define, is analogous to Brahman, the impersonal
Spirit of Hindu philosophy. The universe is the expression of
Tao and in conforming to Tao man finds happiness. For Con
fucianism, as for Europe, man is the pivot and centre of things,
1 Chang Yiian-hsu, who held office in 1912, was deprived of his titles by the
Republican Government. In 1914 petitions were presented for their restoration,
but I do not know with what result. See Peking Daily News, September 5th, 1914.
2 Something similar may be seen in Mormonism where angels and legends have
been invented by individual fancy without any background of tradition.
XLII] CHINA 229
but less so for Taoism and Buddhism. Philosophic Taoism,
being somewhat abstruse and unpractical, might seem to have
little chance of becoming a popular superstition. But from early
times it was opposed to Confucianism, and as Confucianism
became more and more the hall-mark of the official and learned
classes, Taoism tended to become popular, at the expense of
degrading itself. From early times too it dallied with such
fascinating notions as the acquisition of miraculous powers and
longevity. But, as an appeal to the emotional and spiritual
sides of humanity, it was, if superior to Confucianism, inferior
to Buddhism.
Buddhism, unlike Confucianism and Taoism, entered China
as a foreign religion, but, in using this phrase, we must ask how
far any system of belief prevalent there is accepted as what we
call a religion. Even in Ceylon and Burma people follow the
observances of two religions or at least of a religion and a
superstition, but they would undoubtedly call themselves
Buddhists. In China the laity use no such designations and
have no sense of exclusive membership. For them a religion is
comparable to a club, which they use for special purposes. You
may frequent both Buddhist and Taoist temples just as you
may belong to both the Geographical and Zoological Societies.
Perhaps the position of spiritualism in England offers the
nearest analogy to a Chinese religion. There are, I believe, some
few persons for whom spiritualism is a definite, sufficient and
exclusive creed. These may be compared to the Buddhist clergy
with a small minority of the laity. But the majority of those
who are interested or even believe in spiritualism, do not
identify themselves with it in this way. They attend seances
as their curiosity or affections may prompt, but these beliefs
and practices do not prevent them from also belonging to a
Christian denomination. Imagine spiritualism to be better
organized as an institution and you will have a fairly accurate
picture of the average Chinaman's attitude to Buddhism and
Taoism. One may also compare the way in which English poets
use classical mythology. Lycidas, for instance, is an astounding
compound of classical and biblical ideas, and Milton does not
hesitate to call the Supreme Being Jove in a serious passage.
Yet Milton's Christianity has never, so far as I know, been called
in question.
230 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
There is an obvious historical parallel between the religions
of the Chinese and early Roman Empires. In both, the imperial
and official worship was political and indifferent to dogma
without being hostile, provided no sectary refused to call the
Emperor Son of Heaven or sacrifice to his image. In both,
ample provision was made outside the state cult for allaying
the fears of superstition, as well as for satisfying the soul's
thirst for knowledge and emotion. A Roman magistrate of the
second century A.D. may have offered official sacrifices, pro
pitiated local genii, and attended the mysteries of Mithra, in
the same impartial way as Chinese magistrates took part a few
years ago in the ceremonies of Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism. In both cases there was entire liberty to combine
with the official religious routine private beliefs and observances
incongruous with it and often with one another: in both there
was the same essential feature that no deity demanded exclusive
allegiance. The popular polytheism of China is indeed closely
analogous to the paganism of the ancient world1. Hinduism
contains too much personal religion and real spiritual feeling
to make the resemblance perfect, but in dealing with Apollo,
Mars and Venus a Roman of the early Empire seems to have
shown the mixture of respect and scepticism which is charac
teristic of China.
This attitude implies not only a certain want of conviction
but also a utilitarian view of religion. The Chinese visit a temple
much as they visit a shop or doctor, for definite material
purposes, and if it be asked whether they are a religious people
in the better sense of the word, I am afraid the answer must be
in the negative. It is with regret that I express this opinion and
I by no means imply that there are not many deeply religious
persons in China, but whereas in India the obvious manifesta
tions of superstition are a superficial disease and the heart of
the people is keenly sensitive to questions of personal salvation
and speculative theology, this cannot be said of the masses in
China, where religion, as seen, consists of superstitious rites and
the substratum of thought and feeling is small.
1 The sixth ^Eneid would seem to a Chinese quite a natural description of the
next world. In it we have Elysium, Tartarus, transmigration of souls, souls who can
find no resting place because their bodies are unburied, and phantoms showing still
the wounds which their bodies received in life. Nor is there any attempt to har
monize these discordant ideas.
XLII] CHINA 231
This struck me forcibly when visiting Siam some years ago.
In Bangkok there is a large Chinese population and several
Buddhist temples have been made over to them. The temples
frequented by Siamese are not unlike catholic churches in
Europe: the decoration is roughly similar, the standard of
decorum much the same. The visitors come to worship, meditate
or hear sermons. But in the temples used by the Chinese, a
lower standard is painfully obvious and the atmosphere is
different. Visitors are there in plenty, but their object is to
"get luck," and the business of religion has become transformed
into divination and spiritual gambling. The worshipper, on
entering, goes to a counter where he buys tapers and incense-
sticks, together with some implements of superstition such as
rods or inscribed cards. After burning incense he draws a
card or throws the rods up into the air and takes an augury from
the result. Though the contrast presented in Siam makes the
degradation more glaring, yet these temples in Bangkok are
not worse than many which I have seen in China. I gladly set
on the other side of the account some beautiful and reverent
halls of worship in the larger monasteries, but I fear that the
ordinary Chinese temple, whether Taoist or Buddhist, is a
ghostly shop where, in return for ceremonies which involve
neither moral nor intellectual effort, the customer is promised
good luck, offspring, and other material blessings.
It can hardly be denied that the populace in China are
grossly superstitious. Superstition is a common failing and
were statistics available to show the number and status of
Europeans who believe in fortune-telling and luck, the result
might be startling. But in most civilized countries such things
are furtive and apologetic. In China the strangest forms of
magic and divination enjoy public esteem. The ideas which
underlie popular practice and ritual are worthy of African
savages : there has been a monstrous advance in systematization,
yet the ethics and intellect of China, brilliant as are their
achievements, have not leavened the lump. The average
Chinese, though an excellent citizen, full of common sense and
shrewd in business, is in religious matters a victim of fatuous
superstition and completely divorced from the moral and
intellectual standards which he otherwise employs.
Conspicuous among these superstitions is Feng Shui or
232 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Geomancy1, a pseudo -science which is treated as seriously as
law or surveying. It is based on the idea that localities have a
sort of spiritual climate which brings prosperity or the reverse
and depends on the influences of stars and nature spirits, such
as the azure dragon and white tiger. But since these agencies
find expression in the contours of a locality, they can be affected
if its features are modified by artificial means, for instance, the
construction of walls and towers. Buddhism did not disdain
to patronize these notions. The principal hall of a monastery is
usually erected on a specially auspicious site and the appeals
issued for the repair of sacred buildings often point out the
danger impending if edifices essential to the good Feng Shui of
a district are allowed to decay. The scepticism and laughter of
the educated does not clear the air, for superstition can flourish
when neither respected nor believed. The worst feature of
religion in China is that the decently educated public ridicules
its external observances, but continues to practise them,
because they are connected with occasions of good fellowship
or because their omission might be a sign of disrespect to
departed relatives or simply because in dealing with uncanny
things it is better to be on the safe side. This is the sum of
China's composite religion as visible in public and private rites.
Its ethical value is far higher than might be supposed, for its
most absurd superstitions also recommend love and respect in
family life and a high standard of civic duty. But China has
never admitted that public or private morality requires the
support of a religious creed.
As might be expected, life and animation are more apparent
in sects than in conventional religion. Since the recent revolu
tion it is no longer necessary to confute the idea that the Chinese
are a stationary and unemotional race, but its inaccuracy was
demonstrated by many previous movements especially the
T'ai-p'ing rebellion, which had at first a religious tinge. Yet in
China such movements, though they may kindle enthusiasm
and provoke persecution, rarely have the religious value at-
^ 80mewnat similar pseudo-science called vatthu-vijja is condemned
in the Pali scriptures. E.g. Digha N. i. 21. Astrology also has been a great force
in Chinese politics. See Bland and Backhouse, Ann. and Memoirs, passim. The
favour shown at different times to Buddhist, Manichsean and Catholic priests was
often due to their supposed knowledge of astrology.
XLII] CHINA 233
taching to a sect in Christian, Hindu and Mohammedan
countries. Viewed as an ecclesiastical or spiritual movement,
the T'ai-p'ing is insignificant: it was a secret society permitted
by circumstances to become a formidable rising and in its
important phases the political element was paramount. The
same is true of many sects which have not achieved such no
toriety. They are secret societies which adopt a creed, but it is
not in the creed that their real vitality lies.
If it is difficult to say how far the Buddhism of China is a
religion, it is equally difficult to define its relation to the State.
Students well acquainted with the literature as well as with the
actual condition of China have expressed diametrically opposite
views as to the religious attitude of the Imperial Government1,
one stating roundly that it was "the most intolerant, the most
persecuting of all earthly Governments," and another that it
"at no period refused hospitality and consideration to any
religion recommended as such2."
In considering such questions I would again emphasize the
fact that Chinese terms have often not the same extension as
their apparent synonyms in European languages, which, of
course, means that the provinces of human life and thought have
also different boundaries. For most countries the word clergy
has a definite meaning and, in spite of great diversities, may be
applied to Christian clerics, Mollahs and Brahmans without
serious error. It means a class of men who are the super
intendents of religion, but also more. On the one side, though
they may have serious political differences with the Government,
they are usually in touch with it: on the other, though they
may dislike reformers and movements from below, they patronize
and minister to popular sentiment. They are closely connected
with education and learning and sometimes with the law. But
in China there is no class which unites all these features.
Learning, law and education are represented by the Confucian
scholars or literati. Though no one would think of calling them
priests, yet they may offer official sacrifices, like Roman magis-
1 I may again remind the reader that I am not speaking of the Chinese Republic
but of the Empire. The long history of its relations to Buddhism, Taoism and Con
fucianism, though it concerns the past, is of great interest.
2 De Groot and Parker. For an elaboration of the first thesis see especially
De Groot' s Sectarianism and Religious Persecution in China.
234 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
trates. Though they are contemptuous of popular superstition,
yet they embody the popular ideal. It is the pride of a village
to produce a scholar. But the scholarship of the literati is purely
Confucian : Buddhist and Taoist learning have no part in it.
The priest, whether Buddhist or Taoist, is not in the mind
of the people the repository of learning and law. He is not
in religious matters the counterpart of the secular arm, but
rather a private practitioner, duly licensed but of no particular
standing. But he is skilful in his own profession : he has access
to the powers who help, pity and console, and even the sceptic
seeks his assistance when confronted with the dangers of this
world and the next.
The student of Chinese history may object that at many
periods, notably under the Yuan dynasty, the Buddhist clergy
were officially recognized as an educational body and even
received the title of Kuo-shih or teacher of the people. This is
true. Such recognition by no means annihilated the literati,
but it illustrates the decisive influence exercised by the Emperor
and the court. We have, on the one side, a learned official class,
custodians of the best national ideals but inclined to reject
emotion and speculation as well as superstition: on the other,
two priesthoods, prone to superstition but legitimately strong
in so far as they satisfied the emotional and speculative instincts.
The literati held persistently, though respectfully, to the view
that the Emperor should be a Confucianist pure and simple, but
Buddhism and Taoism had such strong popular support that
it was always safe and often politic for an Emperor to patronize
them. Hence an Emperor of personal convictions was able
to turn the balance, and it must be added that Buddhism often
flourished in the courts of weak and dissolute Emperors who
were in the hands of women and eunuchs. Some of these latter
were among its most distinguished devotees.
All Chinese religions agreed in accepting the Emperor as
head of the Church, not merely titular but active. He exercised
a strange prerogative of creating, promoting and degrading
deities. Even within the Buddhist sphere he regulated the
incarnations of Bodhisattvas in the persons of Lamas and from
time to time re-edited the canon1 or added new works to it. This
1 But it must be remembered that the Chinese canon is not entirely analogous
to the collections of the scriptures current in India, Ceylon or Europe.
XLH] CHINA 235
extreme Erastianism had its roots in Indian as well as Chinese
ideas. The Confucianist, while reminding the Emperor that he
should imitate the sages and rulers of antiquity, gladly ad
mitted his right to control the worship of all spirits1 and the
popular conscience, while probably unable to define what was
meant by the title Son of Heaven2, felt that it gave him a vice
regal right to keep the gods in order, so long as he did not
provoke famine or other national calamities by mismanagement.
The Buddhists, though tenacious of freedom in the spiritual life,
had no objection to the patronage of princes. Asoka permitted
himself to regulate the affairs of the Church and the success of
Buddhists as missionaries was due in no small measure to their
tact in allowing other sovereigns to follow his example.
That Buddhism should have obtained in China a favourable
reception and a permanent status is indeed remarkable, for in
two ways it was repugnant to the sentiments of the governing
classes to say nothing of the differences in temper and outlook
which divide Hindus and Chinese. Firstly, its ideal was
asceticism and celibacy ; it gave family life the lower place and
ignored the popular Chinese view that to have a son is not only
a duty, but also essential for those sacrifices without which the
departed spirit cannot have peace. Secondly, it was not merely
a doctrine but an ecclesiastical organization, a congregation
of persons who were neither citizens nor subjects, not exactly
an imperium in imperio nor a secret society, but dangerously
capable of becoming either. Such bodies have always incurred
the suspicion and persecution of the Chinese Government. Even
in the fifth century Buddhist monasteries were accused of
organizing armed conspiracies and many later sects suffered
from the panic which they inspired in official bosoms. But
both difficulties were overcome by the suppleness of the clergy.
1 The Emperor is the Lord of all spirits and has the right to sacrifice to all
spirits, whereas others should sacrifice only to such spirits as concern them. For
the Emperor's title "Lord of Spirits," see Shu Ching iv., vi. 2-3, and Shih Ching,
m., n. 8, 3.
2 The title is undoubtedly very ancient and means Son of Heaven or Son of
God. See Hirth, Ancient History of China, pp. 95-96. But the precise force of Son
is not clear. The Emperor was Viceregent of Heaven, high priest and responsible
for natural phenomena, but he could not in historical times be regarded as sprung
(like the Emperor of Japan) from a family of divine descent, because the dynasties,
and with them the imperial family, were subject to frequent change.
Em. 16
236 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
If they outraged family sentiment they managed to make
themselves indispensable at funeral ceremonies1. If they had
a dangerous resemblance to an imperium in imperio, they
minimized it by their obvious desire to exercise influence through
the Emperor. Though it is true that the majority of anti-
dynastic political sects had a Buddhist colour, the most
prominent and influential Buddhists never failed in loyalty.
To this adroitness must be added a solid psychological advantage.
The success of Buddhism in China was due to the fact that it
presented religious emotion and speculation in the best form
known there, and when it began to spread the intellectual soil
was not unpropitious. The higher Taoist philosophy had made
familiar the ideas of quietism and the contemplative life: the
age was unsettled, harassed alike by foreign invasion and civil
strife. In such times when even active natures tire of un
successful struggles, the asylum of a monastery has attractions
for many.
We have now some idea of the double position of Buddhism
in China and can understand how it sometimes appears as
almost the established church and sometimes as a persecuted
sect. The reader will do well to remember that in Europe the
relations of politics to religion have not always been simple:
many Catholic sovereigns have quarrelled with Popes and monks.
The French Government supports the claims of Catholic missions
in China but does not favour the Church in France. The fact
that Huxley was made a Privy Councillor does not imply that
Queen Victoria approved of his religious views. In China the
repeated restrictive edicts concerning monasteries should not
be regarded as acts of persecution. Every politician can see the
loss to the state if able-bodied men become monks by the
thousand. In periods of literary and missionary zeal, large
congregations of such monks may have a sufficient sphere of
activity but in sleepy, decadent periods they are apt to become
a moral or political danger. A devout Buddhist or Catholic
may reasonably hold that though the monastic life is the best
for the elect, yet for the unworthy it is more dangerous than
the temptations of the world. Thus the founder of the Ming
dynasty had himself been a bonze, yet he limited the number
1 Similarly it is a popular tenet that if a man becomes a monk all his ancestors
go to Heaven. See Paraphrase of sacred Edict, vn.
XLH] CHINA 237
and age of those who might become monks1. On the other hand,
he attended Buddhist services and published an edition of the
Tripitaka. In this and in the conduct of most Emperors there
is little that is inconsistent or mysterious : they regarded religion
not in our fashion as a system deserving either allegiance or
rejection, but as a modern Colonial Governor might regard
education. Some Governors are enthusiastic for education:
others mistrust it as a stimulus of disquieting ideas: most
accept it as worthy of occasional patronage, like hospitals and
races. In the same way some Emperors, like Wu-Ti2, were
enthusiasts for Buddhism and made it practically the state
religion: a few others were definitely hostile either from con
viction or political circumstances, but probably most sovereigns
regarded it as the average British official regards education, as
something that one can't help having, that one must belaud on
certain public occasions, that may now and then be useful, but
still emphatically something to be kept within limits.
Outbursts against Buddhism are easy to understand. I have
pointed out its un-Chinese features and the persistent opposition
of the literati. These were sufficient reasons for repressive
measures whenever the Emperor was unbuddhist in his sym
pathies, especially if the monasteries had enjoyed a period of
prosperity and become crowded and wealthy. What is harder
to understand is the occasional favour shown by apparently
anti-Buddhist Emperors.
The Sacred Edict of the great K'ang Hsi forbids heterodoxy
(i tuan) in which the official explanation clearly includes
Buddhism3. It was published in his extreme youth, but had
his mature approval, and until recently was read in every
prefecture twice a month. But the same Emperor gave many
gifts to monasteries, and in 1705 he issued a decree to the
monks of P'uto in which he said, "we since our boyhood have
been earnest students of Confucian lore and have had no time
to become minutely acquainted with the sacred books of
Buddhism, but we are satisfied that Virtue is the one word
1 Japanese Emperors did the same, e.g. Kwammu Tenno in 793.
3 K'ang Hsi is responsible only for the text of the Edict which merely forbids
heterodoxy. But his son Yung Cheng who published the explanation and paraphrase
repaired the Buddhist temples at P'uto and the Taoist temple at Lung-hu-shan.
238 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
which indicates what is essential in both systems. Let us pray
to the compassionate Kuan-yin that she may of her grace send
down upon our people the spiritual rain and sweet dew of the
good Law: that she may grant them bounteous harvests,
seasonable winds and the blessings of peace, harmony and long
life and finally that she may lead them to the salvation which
she offers to all beings in the Universe1." The two edicts are
not consistent but such inconsistency is no reproach to a states
man nor wholly illogical. The Emperor reprimands extrava
gance in doctrine and ceremonial and commends Confucianism
to his subjects as all that is necessary for good life and good
government, but when he finds that Buddhism conduces to the
same end he accords his patronage and politely admits the
existence and power of Kuan-yin.
But I must pass on to another question, the relation of
Chinese to Indian Buddhism. Chinese Buddhism is often spoken
of as a strange and corrupt degeneration, a commixture of
Indian and foreign ideas. Now if such phrases mean that the
pulse of life is feeble and the old lights dim, we must regretfully
admit their truth, but still little is to be found in Chinese
Buddhism except the successive phases of later Indian
Buddhism, introduced into China from the first century A.D.
onwards. In Japan there arose new sects, but in China, when
importation ceased, no period of invention supervened. The
T'ien-t'ai school has some originality, and native and foreign
ideas were combined by the followers of Bodhidharma. But
the remaining schools were all founded by members of Indian
sects or by Chinese who aimed at scrupulous imitation of Indian
models. Until the eighth century, when the formative period
came to an end, we have an alternation of Indian or Central
Asian teachers arriving in China to meet with respect and
acceptance, and of Chinese enquirers who visited India in order
to discover the true doctrine and practice and were honoured
on their return in proportion as they were believed to have
found it. There is this distinction between China and such
countries as Java, Camboja and Champa, that whereas in
1 See Johnston, p. 352. I have not seen the Chinese text of this edict. In Laufer
and Francke's EpigraphiscTie Denkmdler aus China is a long inscription of Kang Hsi's
giving the history both legendary and recent of the celebrated sandal-wood image
of the Buddha.
XLII] CHINA 239
them we find a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism, in China
the traces of Hinduism are slight. The imported ideas, however
corrupt, were those of Indian Buddhist scholars, not the mixed
ideas of the Indian layman1.
Of course Buddhist theory and practice felt the influence of
their new surroundings. The ornaments and embroidery of the
faith are Chinese and sometimes hide the original material.
Thus Kuan-yin, considered historically, has grown out of the
Indian deity Avalokita, but the goddess worshipped by the
populace is the heroine of the Chinese romance mentioned
above. And, since many Chinese are only half Buddhists, tales
about gods and saints are taken only half -seriously ; the
Buddha periodically invites the immortals to dine with him in
Heaven and the Eighteen Lohan are described as converted
brigands.
In every monastery the buildings, images and monks
obviously bear the stamp of the country. Yet nearly all the
doctrines and most of the usages have Indian parallels. The
ritual has its counterpart in what I-Ching describes as seen by
himself in his Indian travels. China has added the idea of
feng-shui, and has modified architectural forms. For instance
the many-storeyed pagoda is an elongation of the stupa2. So,
too, in ceremonial, the great prominence given to funeral rites
and many superstitious details are Chinese, yet, as I have often
mentioned in this work, rites on behalf of the dead were tolerated
by early Buddhism. The curious mingling of religious services
with theatrical pagents which Hsiian Chuang witnessed at
Allahabad in the reign of Harsha, has its modest parallel to-day
in many popular festivals.
The numerous images which crowd a Chinese temple, the
1 This indicates that the fusion of Buddhism and Hinduism was less complete
than some scholars suppose. Where there was a general immigration of Hindus, the
mixture is found, but the Indian visitors to China were mostly professional teachers
and their teaching was definitely Buddhist. There are, however, two non-Buddhist
books in the Chinese Tripitaka. Nanjio Cat. Nos. 1295 and 1300.
2 It has been pointed out by Fergusson and others that there were high towers
in China before the Buddhist period. Still, the numerous specimens extant date
from Buddhist times, many were built over relics, and the accounts of both Fa-hsien
and Hsuan Chuang show that the Stupa built by Kanishka at Peshawar had
attracted the attention of the Chinese.
I regret that de Groot's interesting work Der Thupa: das heiligste Heiligtum des
Buddhismus in China, 1919, reached me too late for me to make use of it.
240 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
four kings, Arhats and Bodhisattvas, though of unfamiliar
appearance to the Indian student, are Indian in origin. A few
Taoist deities may have side chapels, but they are not among
the principal objects of worship. The greater part of the Chinese
Tripitaka is a translation from the Sanskrit and the Chinese
works (only 194 against 1467 translations) are chiefly exegetical.
Thus, though Chinese bonzes countenance native superstitions
and gladly undertake to deal with all the gods and devils of
the land, yet in its doctrine, literature, and even in many
externals their Buddhism remains an Indian importation. If we
seek in it for anything truly Chinese, it is to be found not in the
constituents, but in the atmosphere, which, like a breeze from
a mountain monastery sometimes freshens the gilded shrines
and libraries of verbose sutras. It is the native spirit of the
Far East which finds expression in the hill-side hermit's sense
of freedom and in dark sayings such as Buddhism is the oak-tree
in my garden. Every free and pure heart can become a Buddha,
but also is one with the life of birds and flowers. Both the love
of nature1 and the belief that men can become divine can easily
be paralleled in Indian texts, but they were not, I think, im
ported into China, and joy in natural beauty and sympathy with
wild life are much more prominent in Chinese than in Indian art.
Is then Buddhist doctrine, as opposed to the superstitions
tolerated by Buddhism, something exotic and without influence
on the national life? That also is not true. The reader will
perceive from what has gone before that if he asks for statistics
of Buddhism in China, the answer must be, in the Buddha's
own phrase, that the question is not properly put. It is incorrect
to describe China as a Buddhist country. We may say that it
contains so many million Mohammedans or Christians, because
these creeds are definite and exclusive. We cannot quote similar
figures for Buddhism or Confucianism. Yet assuredly Buddhism
has been a great power in China, as great perhaps as Christianity
in Europe, if we remember how much is owed by European art,
literature, law and science to non-Christian sources. The Chinese
language is full of Buddhist phraseology2, not only in literature
1 The love of nature shown in the Pali Pitakas (particularly the Thera and Theri
Gatha) has often been noticed, but it is also strong in Mahayanist literature. E.g.
Bodhicaryavatara vm. 26-39 and 86-88.
2 See especially Watters, Essays on the Chinese Language, chaps, vm and ix,
and dementi, Cantonese Love Songs in English, pp. 9 to 12
XLH] CHINA 241
but in popular songs and proverbs and an inspection of such
entries in a Chinese dictionary as Fo (Buddha), Kuan Yin,
Ho Shang (monk)1 will show how large and not altogether
flattering a part they play in popular speech.
Popular literature bears the same testimony. It is true that
in what are esteemed the higher walks of letters Buddhism has
little place. The quotations and allusions which play there so
prominent a part are taken from the classics and Confucianism
can claim as its own the historical, lexicographical and critical2
works which are the solid and somewhat heavy glory of Chinese
literature. But its lighter and less cultivated blossoms, such
as novels, fairy stories and poetry, are predominantly Buddhist
or Taoist in inspiration. This may be easily verified by a perusal
of such works as the Dream of the Red Chamber, Strange Stories
from a Chinese Studio, and Wieger's Folk Lore Chinois Moderne.
The same is true in general of the great Chinese poets, many of
whom did not conceal that (in a poetic and unascetic fashion)
they were attached to Buddhism.
It may be asked if the inspiration is not Taoist in the main
rather than Buddhist. Side by side with ethics and ceremony,
a native stream of bold and weird imagination has never ceased
to flow in China and there was no need to import tales of the
Genii, immortal saints and vampire beauties. But when any
coherency unites these ideas of the supernatural, that I think
is the work of Buddhism and so far as Taoism itself has any
coherency it is an imitation of Buddhism. Thus the idea of
metempsychosis as one of many passing fancies may be in
digenous to China but its prevalence in popular thought and
language is undoubtedly due to Buddhism, for Taoism and
Confucianism have nothing definite to say as to the state of
the dead.
Much the same story of Buddhist influence is told by Chinese
art, especially painting and sculpture. Here too Taoism is by
no means excluded : it may be said to represent the artistic side
1 0U, ffiih sfafft.
2 I cannot refrain from calling attention to the difference between the Chinese
and most other Asiatic peoples (especially the Hindus) as exhibited in their litera
ture. Quite apart from European influence the Chinese produced several centuries
ago catalogues of museums and descriptive lists of inscriptions, worke which have
no parallel in Hindu India.
242 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
of the Chinese mind, as Confucianism represents the political.
But it is impossible to mistake the significance of chronology.
As soon as Buddhism was well established in China, art entered
on a new phase which culminated in the masterpieces of the
T'ang and Sung1. Buddhism did not introduce painting into
China or even perfect a rudimentary art. The celebrated roll
of Ku K'ai-chih2 shows no trace of Indian influence and pre
supposes a long artistic tradition. But Mahayanist Buddhism
brought across Central Asia new shapes and motives. Some of
its imports were of doubtful artistic value, such as figures with
many limbs and eyes, but with them came ideas which en
riched Chinese art with new dramatic power, passion and
solemnity. Taoism dealt with other worlds but they were
gardens of the Hesperides, inhabited by immortal wizards and
fairy queens, not those disquieting regions where the soul
receives the reward of its deeds. But now the art of Central
Asia showed Chinese painters something new ; saints preaching
the law with a gesture of authority and deities of infinite
compassion inviting suppliants to approach their thrones. And
with them came the dramatic story of Gotama's life and all
the legends of the Jatakas.
This clearly is not Taoism, but when the era of great art
and literature begins, any distinction between the two creeds,
except for theological purposes, becomes artificial, for Taoism
borrowed many externals of Buddhism, and Buddhism, while
not abandoning its austere and emaciated saints, also accepted
the Taoist ideal of the careless wandering hermit, friend of
mountain pines and deer. Wei Hsieh3 who lived under the
Chin dynasty, when the strength of Buddhism was beginning
to be felt, is considered by Chinese critics as the earliest of the
great painters and is said to have excelled in both Buddhist and
Taoist subjects. The same may be said of the most eminent
names, such as Ku K'ai-chih and Wu Tao-tzu4, and we may also
remember that Italian artists painted the birth of Venus and
the origin of the milky way as well as Annunciations and
1 There are said to have been four great schools of Buddhist painting under the
T'ang. See Kokka 294 and 295.
2 Preserved in the British Museum and published.
of the -ET" dynasty.
XLII] CHINA 243
Assumptions, without any hint that one incident was less true
than another. Buddhism not only provided subjects like the
death of the Buddha and Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, which
hold in Chinese art the same place as the Crucifixion and the
Madonna in Europe, and generation after generation have
stimulated the noblest efforts of the best painters. It also
offered a creed and ideals suited to the artistic temperament:
peace and beauty reigned in its monasteries: its doctrine that
life is one and continuous is reflected in that love of nature, that
sympathetic understanding of plants and animals, that intimate
union of sentiment with landscape which marks the best
Chinese pictures.
CHAPTER XLIII
CHINA (continued)
HISTORY.
THE traditional date for the introduction of Buddhism is 62 A.D.,
when the chronicles tell how the Emperor Ming-Ti of the Later
Han Dynasty dreamt that he saw a golden man fly into his
palace1 and how his courtiers suggested that the figure was
Fo-t'o2 or Buddha, an Indian God. Ming-Ti did not let the
matter drop and in 65 sent an embassy to a destination variously
described as the kingdom of the Ta Yiieh Chih3 or India with
Instructions to bring back Buddhist scriptures and priests. On
its return it was accompanied by a monk called Kasyapa
Matanga4, a native of Central India. A second called Chu
Fa-Lan5, who came from Central Asia and found some difficulty
in obtaining permission to leave his country, followed shortly
afterwards. Both were installed at Loyang, the capital of the
dynasty, in the White Horse Monastery6, so called because the
foreign monks rode on white horses or used them for carrying
books.
The story has been criticized as an obvious legend, but I
see no reason why it should not be true to this extent that
Ming-Ti sent an embassy to Central Asia (not India in our
sense) with the result that a monastery was for the first time
established under imperial patronage. The gravest objection is
that before the campaigns of Pan Ch'ao7, which began about
73 A.D., Central Asia was in rebellion against China. But those
1 See B.E.F.E.O. 1910, Le Songe et I'Ambassade de 1'Empereur Ming Ti, par
M. H. Maspero, where the original texts are translated and criticized. It is a curious
coincidenoe that Ptolemy Soter is said to have introduced the worship of Serapis
to Egypt from Sinope in consequence of a dream.
No doubt then pronounced something like Vut-tha.
CH. XLIH] CHINA 245
campaigns show that the Chinese Court was occupied with
Central Asian questions and to send envoys to enquire about
religion may have been politically advantageous, for they could
obtain information without asserting or abandoning China's
claims to sovereignty. The story does not state that there was
no Buddhism in China before 62 A.D. On the contrary it
implies that though it was not sufficiently conspicuous to be
known to the Emperor, yet there was no difficulty in obtaining
information about it and other facts support the idea that it
began to enter China at least half a century earlier. The negotia
tions of Chang Ch'ien1 with the Yiieh Chih (129-119 B.C.) and
the documents discovered by Stein in the ancient military posts
on the western frontier of Kansu2 prove that China had com
munication with Central Asia, but neither the accounts of
Chang Ch'ien's journeys nor the documents contain any allusion
to Buddhism. In 121 B.C. the Annals relate that "a golden
man" was captured from the Hsiung-nu but, even if it was an
image of Buddha, the incident had no consequences. More
important is a notice in the Wei-liieh which gives a brief account
of the Buddha's birth and states that in the year 2 B.C. an
ambassador sent by the Emperor Ai to the court of the Yiieh
Chih was instructed in Buddhism by order of their king3. Also
the Later Han Annals intimate that in 65 A.D. the Prince of
Ch'u4 was a Buddhist and that there were Sramanas and
Upasakas in his territory.
The author of the Wei-liieh comments on the resemblance
of Buddhist writings to the work of Lao-tzu, and suggests that
the latter left China in order to teach in India. This theory found
many advocates among the Taoists, but is not likely to commend
itself to European scholars. Less improbable is a view held by
2 See Chavannes, Les documents Chinois decouverts par Aurel Stein, 1913, Intro
duction. The earliest documents are of 98 B.C.
3 The Wei-liieh or Wei-lio f$|:Jgr? composed between 239 and 265 A.D., no
longer exists as a complete work, but a considerable extract from it dealing with the
countries of the West is incorporated in the San Kuo Chih - - BeJAiN of P'ei-
Sung-Chih §jj|>|^^ (429 A.D.). See Chavannes, translation and notes in T'oung
Poo, 1905, pp. 619-571.
4 4S . See Chavannes, Lc. p. 550.
246 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
many Chinese critics1 and apparently first mentioned in the
Sui annals, namely, that Buddhism was introduced into China
at an early date but was exterminated by the Emperor Shih
Huang Ti (221-206) in the course of his crusade against litera
ture. But this view is not supported by any details and is open
to the general objection that intercourse between China and
India vid Central Asia before 200 B.C. is not only unproved but
improbable.
Still the mystical, quietist philosophy of Lao-tzu and Chuang-
tzu has an undoubted resemblance to Indian thought. No one
who is familiar with the Upanishads can read the Tao-Te-Ching
without feeling that if Brahman is substituted for Tao the whole
would be intelligible to a Hindu. Its doctrine is not specifically
Buddhist, yet it contains passages which sound like echoes of
the Pitakas. Compare Tao-Te-Ching, 33. 1, "He who overcomes
others is strong: he who overcomes himself is mighty," with
Dhammapada, 103, "If one man overcome a thousand thousand
in battle and another overcome himself, this last is the greatest
of conquerors"; and 46. 2, "There is no greater sin that to look
on what moves desire : there is no greater evil than discontent :
there is no greater disaster than covetousness," with Dham
mapada, 251, "There is no fire like desire, there is no monster
like hatred, there is no snare like folly, there is no torrent like
covetousness." And if it be objected that these are the coin
cidences of obvious ethics, I would call attention to 39. 1,
"Hence if we enumerate separately each part that goes to
form a cart, we have no cart at all." Here .the thought and its
illustration cannot be called obvious and the resemblance to
well-known passages in the Samyutta Nikaya and Questions
of Milinda2 is striking.
Any discussion of the indebtedness of the Tao-Te-Chirig to
India is too complicated for insertion here since it involves the
1 See Francke, Zur Frage der Einfiihrung des Buddhismus in China, 1910, and
Maspero' s re vie w in B. E. F. E. 0. 1 9 1 0, p. 629. Another Taoist legend is that Dipankara
Buddha or Jan Teng, described as the teacher of Sakyamuni was a Taoist and that
6akyamuni visited him in China. Giles quotes extracts from a writer of the eleventh
century called Shen Kua to the effect that Buddhism had been flourishing before
the Ch'in dynasty but disappeared with its advent and also that eighteen priests
were imprisoned in 216 B.C. But the story adds that they recited the Prajnapara-
mita which is hardly possible at that epoch.
2 Sam. Nik. v. 10. 6. Cf. for a similar illustration in Chuang-tzu, S.B.E. XL. p. 120.
XLHI] CHINA 247
question of its date or the date of particular passages, if we
reject the hypothesis that the work as we have it was composed
by Lao-tzu in the sixth century B.C.1 But there is less reason
to doubt the genuineness of the essays of Chuang-tzu who lived
in the fourth century B.C. In them we find mention of trances
which give superhuman wisdom and lead to union with the
all-pervading spirit, and of magical powers enjoyed by sages,
similar to the Indian iddhi. He approves the practice of
abandoning the world and enunciates the doctrines of evolution
and reincarnation. He knows, as does also the Tao-Te-Ching,
methods of regulating the breathing which are conducive to
mental culture and long life. He speaks of the six faculties of
perception, which recall the Shadayatana, and of name and
real existence (namarupam) as being the conditions of a thing2.
He has also a remarkable comparison of death to the extinction
of a fire: "what we can point to are the faggots that have been
consumed : but the fire is transmitted and we know not that it
is over and ended." Several Buddhist parallels to this might
be cited3.
The list of such resemblances might be made longer and the
explanation that Indian ideas reached China sporadically, at
least as early as the fourth century B.C., seems natural. I should
accept it, if there were any historical evidence besides these
literary parallels. But there seems to be none and it may be
justly urged that the roots of this quietism lie so deep in the
Chinese character, that the plant cannot have sprung from some
chance wind-wafted seed. That character has two sides, one
seen in the Chinese Empire and the classical philosophy,
excellent as ethics but somewhat stiff and formal: the other in
revolutions and rebellions, in the free life of hermits and
wanderers, in poetry and painting. This second side is very like
the temper of Indian Buddhism and easily amalgamated with
it4, but it has a special note of its own.
1 I may say, however, that I think it is a compilation containing very ancient
sayings amplified by later material which shows Buddhist influence. This may be
true to some extent of the Essays of Chuang-tzu as well.
2 See Legge's translation in S.B.E. Part I. pp. 176, 257, n. 46, 62; ib. i. pp. 171,
192, n. 13; ib. n. p. 13; ib. n. p. 9, I. p. 249; ib. pp. 45, 95, 100, 364, n. p. 139;
ib. n. p. 139; ib. n. p. 129.
3 76. i. p. 202; cf. the Buddha's conversation with Vaccha in Maj. Nik. 72.
4 Kumarajiva and other Buddhists actually wrote commentaries on the Tao-
Te-Ching.
248 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
The curiosity of Ming-Ti did not lead to any immediate
triumph of Buddhism. We read that he was zealous in honouring
Confucius but not that he showed devotion to the new faith.
Indeed it is possible that his interest was political rather than
religious. Buddhism was also discredited by its first convert,
the Emperor's brother Chu-Ying, who rebelled unsuccessfully
and committed suicide. Still it nourished in a quiet way and
the two foreign monks in the White Horse Monastery began that
long series of translations which assumed gigantic proportions
in the following centuries. To Kasyapa is ascribed a collection
of extracts known as the Sutra of forty-two sections which is
still popular1. This little work adheres closely to the teaching
of the Pali Tripitaka and shows hardly any traces of the Ma-
hayana. According to the Chinese annals the chief doctrines
preached by the first Buddhist missionaries were the sanctity
of all animal life, metempsychosis, meditation, asceticism and
Karma.
It is not until the third century2 that we hear much of
Buddhism as a force at Court or among the people, but mean
while the task of translation progressed at Lo-yang. The Chinese
are a literary race and these quiet labours prepared the soil for
the subsequent efflorescence. Twelve3 translators are named as
having worked before the downfall of the Han Dynasty and
about 350 books are attributed to them. None of them were
Chinese. About half came from India and the rest from Central
Asia, the most celebrated of the latter being An Shih-kao, a
prince of An-hsi or Parthia4. The Later Han Dynasty was
1 V--t ~\ ZHJii7R^j£ . It speaks, however, in section 36 of being born in the
condition or family of a Bodhisattva (P'u-sa-chia), where the word seems to be used
in the late sense of a devout member of the Buddhist Church.
2 But the Emperor Huan is said to have sacrificed to Buddha and Lao-tzu. See
Hou Han Shu in T'oung Poo, 1907, p. 194. For early Buddhism see "Communautes
et Moines Bouddhistes Chinois au II et au III siecles," by Maspero in B.E.F.E.O.
1910, p. 222. In the second century lived Mou-tzu j&-^p* a Buddhist author with
a strong spice of Taoism. His work is a collection of questions and answers, some
what resembling the Questions of Milinda. See translation by Pelliot (in T'oung
Poo, vol. Xix. 1920) who gives the date provisionally as 195 A.D.
3 Accounts of these and the later translators are found in the thirteen catalogues
of the Chinese Tripitaka (see Nanjio, p. xxvii) and other works such as the Kao
Sang-Chuan (Nanjio, No. 1490).
He worked at translations in Loyang 148-170.
xun] CHINA 249
followed by the animated and romantic epoch known as the
Three Kingdoms (221-265) when China was divided between
the States of Wei, Wu and Shu. Loyang became the capital
of Wei and the activity of the White Horse Monastery con
tinued. We have the names of five translators who worked
there. One of them was the first to translate the Patimokkha1,
which argues that previously few followed the monastic life.
At Nanking, the capital of Wu, we also hear of five translators
and one was tutor of the Crown Prince. This implies that
Buddhism was spreading in the south and that monks inspired
confidence at Court.
The Three Kingdoms gave place to the Dynasty known as
Western Tsin2 which, for a short time (A.D. 265-316), claimed
to unite the Empire, and we now reach the period when Buddhism
begins to become prominent. It is also a period of political
confusion, of contest between the north and south, of struggles
between Chinese and Tartars. Chinese histories, with their
long lists of legitimate sovereigns, exaggerate the solidity and
continuity of the Empire, for the territory ruled by those
sovereigns was often but a small fraction of what we call China.
Yet the Tartar states were not an alien and destructive force
to the same extent as the conquests made by Mohammedan
Turks at the expense of Byzantium. The Tartars were neither
fanatical, nor prejudiced against Chinese ideals in politics and
religion. On the contrary, they respected the language, litera
ture and institutions of the Empire: they assumed Chinese
names and sometimes based their claim to the Imperial title
on the marriage of their ancestors with Chinese princesses.
During the fourth century and the first half of the fifth
some twenty ephemeral states, governed by Tartar chieftains
and perpetually involved in mutual war, rose and fell in northern
China. The most permanent of them was Northern Wei which
lasted till 535 A.D. But the Later Chao and both the Earlier and
Later Ts'in are important for our purpose3. Some writers make
it a reproach to Buddhism that its progress, which had been
1 Dharmakala, see Nanjio, p. 386. The Vinaya used in these early days of
Chinese Buddhism was apparently that of the Dharmagupta school. See J.A. 1916,
ii. p. 40. An Shih-kao (c. A.D. 150) translated a work called The 3000 Rules for Monks
(Nanjio, 1126), but it is not clear what was the Sanskrit original.
250 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
slow among the civilized Chinese, became rapid in the provinces
which passed into the hands of these ruder tribes. But the
phenomenon is natural and is illustrated by the fact that even
now the advance of Christianity is more rapid in Africa than
in India. The civilization of China was already old and self-
complacent: not devoid of intellectual curiosity and not in
tolerant, but sceptical of foreign importations and of dealings
with the next world. But the Tartars had little of their own
in the way of literature and institutions: it was their custom
to assimilate the arts and ideas of the civilized nations whom
they conquered : the more western tribes had already made the
acquaintance of Buddhism in Central Asia and such native
notions of religion as they possessed disposed them to treat
priests, monks and magicians with respect.
Of the states mentioned, the Later Chao was founded by
Shih-Lo1 (273-332), whose territories extended from the Great
Wall to the Han and Huai in the South. He showed favour to
an Indian monk and diviner called Fo-t'u-ch'eng2 who lived
at his court and he appears to have been himself a Buddhist.
At any rate the most eminent of his successors, Shih Chi-lung3,
was an ardent devotee and gave general permission to the
population to enter monasteries, which had not been granted
previously. This permission is noticeable, for it implies, even
at this early date, the theory that a subject of the Emperor
has no right to become a monk without his master's leave.
In 381 we are told that in north-western China nine-tenths
of the inhabitants were Buddhists. In 372 Buddhism was
introduced into Korea and accepted as the flower of Chinese
civilization.
The state known as the Former Ts'in4 had its nucleus in
r • ^e was a remai>kable man and famous in his time, for he was
credited not only with clairvoyance and producing rain, but with raising the dead.
Remusat's account of him, based on the Tsin annals, may still be read with interest.
See Nouv. Melanges Asiatiques, n. 1829, pp. 179 ff. His biography is contained in
chap. 95 of the Tsin ^py annals.
3 ^35 S| . Died 363 A.D.
* Ts'in IS must be distinguished from Tsin ?§• ? the name of three short but
legitimate dynasties.
xun] CHINA 251
Shensi, but expanded considerably between 351 and 394 A.D.
under the leadership of Fu-Chien1, who established in it large
colonies of Tartars. At first he favoured Confucianism but in
381 became a Buddhist. He was evidently in close touch with
the western regions and probably through them with India,
for we hear that sixty-two states of Central Asia sent him tribute.
The Later Ts'in dynasty (384-417) had its headquarters
in Kansu and was founded by vassals of the Former Ts'in.
When the power of Fu-Chien collapsed, they succeeded to his
possessions and established themselves in Ch'ang-an. Yao-
hsing2, the second monarch of this line was a devout Buddhist,
and deserves mention as the patron of Kumarajiva3, the most
eminent of the earlier translators.
Kumarajiva was born of Indian parents in Kucha and, after
following the school of the Sarvastivadins for some time, became
a Mahayanist. When Kucha was captured in 383 by the
General of Fu-Chien, he was carried off to China and from 401
onwards he laboured at Ch'ang-an for about ten years. He was
appointed Kuo Shih4, or Director of Public Instruction, and
lectured in a hall specially built for him. He is said to have had
3000 disciples and fifty extant translations are ascribed to him.
Probably all the Tartar kingdoms were well disposed towards
Buddhism, though their unsettled condition made them pre
carious residences for monks and scholars. This was doubtless
true of Northern Wei, which had been growing during the
period described, but appears as a prominent home of Buddhism
somewhat later.
Meanwhile in the south the Eastern Tsin Dynasty, which
represented the legitimate Empire and ruled at Nanking from
317 to 420, was also favourable to Buddhism and Hsiao Wu-Ti,
the ninth sovereign of this line, was the first Emperor of China
to become a Buddhist.
The times were troubled, but order was gradually being
restored. The Eastern Tsin Dynasty had been much disturbed
by the struggles of rival princes. These were brought to an end
in 420 by a new dynasty known as Liu Sung which reigned in
3 See Nanjio, Catalogue, p. 406.
4 H 1S6 • For thia title see Pelliot in T'oung Poo, 191 1, p. 671.
E. m. 17
252 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
the south some sixty years. The north was divided among six
Tartar kingdoms, which all perished before 440 except Wei.
Wei then split into an Eastern and a Western kingdom which
lasted about a hundred years. In the south, the Liu Sung gave
place to three short dynasties, Ch'i, Liang and Ch'en, until at
last the Sui (589-605) united China.
The Liu Sung Emperor Wen-Ti (424-454) was a patron of
Confucian learning, but does not appear to have discouraged
Buddhism. The Sung annals record that several embassies were
sent from India and Ceylon to offer congratulations on the
flourishing condition of religion in his dominions, but they also
preserve memorials from Chinese officials asking for imperial
interference to prevent the multiplication of monasteries and
the growing expenditure on superstitious ceremonies. This
marks the beginning of the desire to curb Buddhism by re
strictive legislation which the official class displayed so promi
nently and persistently in subsequent centuries. A similar
reaction seems to have been felt in Wei, where the influential
statesman Ts'ui Hao1, a votary of Taoism, conducted an anti-
Buddhist campaign. He was helped in this crusade by the
discovery of arms in a monastery at Ch'ang-an. The monks were
accused of treason and debauchery and in 446 Toba Tao2, the
sovereign of Wei, issued an edict ordering the destruction of
Buddhist temples and sacred books as well as the execution of
all priests. The Crown Prince, who was a Buddhist, was able
to save many lives, but no monasteries or temples were left
standing. The persecution, however, was of short duration.
Toba Tao was assassinated and almost the first act of his
successor was to re-establish Buddhism and allow his subjects
to become monks. From this period date the sculptured grottoes
of Yiin-Kang in northern Shan-si which are probably the oldest
specimens of Buddhist art in China. In 471 another ruler of
Wei, Toba Hung, had a gigantic image of Buddha constructed
and subsequently abdicated in order to devote himself to
fe He was canonized under the name of Wu OPT and the three
* •**'V >
great persecutions of Buddhism are sometimes described as the disasters of the
three Wu, the others being Wu of the North Chou dynasty (574) and Wu of the
T'ang (845).
XLIII] CHINA 253
Buddhist studies. His successor marks a reaction, for he was
an ardent Confucianist who changed the family name to Yuan
and tried to introduce the Chinese language and dress. But the
tide of Buddhism was too strong. It secured the favour of the
next Emperor in whose time there are said to have been 13,000
temples in Wei.
In the Sung dominions a conspiracy was discovered in 458
in which a monk was implicated, and restrictive, though not
prohibitive, regulations were issued respecting monasteries.
The Emperor Ming-Ti, though a cruel ruler was a devout
Buddhist and erected a monastery in Hu-nan, at the cost of
such heavy taxation that his ministers remonstrated. The fifty-
nine years of Liu Sung rule must have been on the whole
favourable to Buddhism, for twenty translators flourished,
partly natives and partly foreigners from Central Asia, India
and Ceylon. In 420 a band of twenty -five Chinese started on a
pilgrimage to India. They had been preceded by the celebrated
pilgrim Fa-Hsien1 who travelled in India from 399 to 414.
In the reign of Wu-Ti, the first Emperor of the Ch'i dynasty,
one of the imperial princes, named Tzu Liang2, cultivated the
society of eminent monks and enjoyed theological discussions.
From the specimens of these arguments which have been pre
served we see that the explanation of the inequalities of life
as the result of Karma had a great attraction for the popular
mind and also that it provoked the hostile criticism of the
Confucian literati.
The accession of the Liang dynasty and the long reign of its
first emperor Wu-Ti (502-549) were important events in the
history of Buddhism, for this monarch rivalled Asoka in pious
enthusiasm if not in power and prosperity. He obviously set
the Church above the state and it was while he was on the
throne that Bodhidharma came to China and the first edition
of the Tripitaka was prepared.
His reign, though primarily of importance for religion, was
not wanting in political interest, and witnessed a long conflict
with Wei. Wu-Ti was aided by the dissensions which distracted
Wei but failed to achieve his object, probably as a result of his
religious preoccupations, for he seemed unable to estimate the
For the 25 P11^1118 see Nanjio, p. 417.
254 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
power of the various adventurers who from time to time rose
to pre-eminence in the north and, holding war to be wrong, he
was too ready to accept insincere overtures for peace. Wei split
into two states, the Eastern and Western, and Hou-Ching1, a
powerful general who was not satisfied with his position in
either, offered his services to Wu-Ti, promising to add a large
part of Ho-nan to his dominions. He failed in his promise but
Wu-Ti, instead of punishing him, first gave him a post as
governor and then listened to the proposals made by the ruler
of Eastern Wei for his surrender. On this Hou-Ching conspired
with an adopted son of Wu-Ti, who had been set aside as heir
to the throne and invested Nanking. The city was captured
after the horrors of a prolonged siege and Wu-Ti died miserably.
Wu-Ti was not originally a Buddhist. In fact until about
510, when he was well over forty, he was conspicuous as a
patron of Confucianism. The change might be ascribed to per
sonal reasons, but it is noticeable that the same thing occurred
in Wei, where a period of Confucianism was succeeded by a
strong wave of Buddhism which evidently swept over all China.
Hu2, the Dowager Empress of Wei, was a fervent devotee, though
of indifferent morality in both public and private life since she
is said to have poisoned her own son. In 518 she sent Sung Yiin
and Hui Sheng3 to Udyana in search of Buddhist books of
which they brought back 175.
Wu-Ti's conversion is connected with a wandering monk and
magician called Pao-Chih4, who received the privilege of
approaching him at all hours. A monastery was erected in
Nanking at great expense and edicts were issued forbidding
not only the sacrifice of animals but even the representation
of living things in embroidery, on the ground that people
might cut up such figures and thus become callous to the sanctity
of life. The emperor expounded Sutras in public and wrote a
work on Buddhist ritual5. The first Chinese edition of the
Tripitaka, in manuscript and not printed, was collected in 518.
8 "T!C^^ ijlL/fc . See Chavannes, "Voyage de Song Yun dans 1'Udyana et
le Gandhara, 518-522," p. E in B.E.F.E.O. 1903, pp. 379-441. For an interesting
account of the Dowager Empress see pp. 384-5.
XLIII] CHINA 255
Although Wu-Ti's edicts, particularly that against animal
sacrifices, gave great dissatisfaction, yet the Buddhist movement
seems to have been popular and not merely an imperial whim,
for many distinguished persons, for instance the authors Liu
Hsieh and Yao Ch'a1, took part in it.
In 520 (or according to others, in 525) Bodhidharma (gener
ally called Ta-mo in Chinese) landed in Canton from India. He
is described as the son of a king of a country called Hsiang-
chih in southern India, and the twenty-eighth Patriarch2. He
taught that merit does not lie in good works and that knowledge
is not gained by reading the scriptures. The one essential is
insight, which comes as illumination after meditation. Though
this doctrine had subsequently much success in the Far East, it
was not at first appreciated and Bodhidharma's introduction
to the devout but literary Emperor in Nanking was a fiasco.
He offended his Majesty by curtly saying that he had acquired
no merit by causing temples to be built and books to be tran
scribed. Then, in answer to the question, what is the most im
portant of the holy doctrines, he replied "where all is emptiness,
nothing can be called holy." "Who," asked the astonished
Emperor, "is he who thus replies to me?" "I do not know,"
said Bodhidharma.
Not being able to come to any understanding with Wu-Ti,
Bodhidharma went northwards, and is said to have crossed the
Yang-tse standing on a reed, a subject frequently represented
in Chinese art3. He retired to Lo-yang where he spent nine
years in the Shao-Lin4 temple gazing silently at a wall, whence
he was popularly known as the wall-gazer. One legend says
that he sat so long in contemplation that his legs fell off, and
2 See chap. xxin. p. 95, and chap. XLV below (on schools of Chinese Buddhism),
for more about Bodhidharma. The earliest Chinese accounts of him seem to be those
contained in the Liang and Wei annals. But one of the most popular and fullest
accounts is to be found in the Wu Teng Hui Yuan (first volume) printed at Kushan
near Fuchow.
3 His portraits are also frequent both in China and Japan (sec Ostasiat. Ztsfl
1912, p. 226) and the strongly marked features attributed to him may j>erhapa
represent a tradition of his personal appearance, which is entirely un-Chinese.
An elaborate study of Bodhidharma written in Japanese is noticed in B.E.F.E.O.
1911, p. 457.
256 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
a kind of legless doll which is a favourite plaything in Japan is
still called by his name. But according to another tale he
preserved his legs. He wished to return to India but died in
China. When Sung Ytin, the traveller mentioned above, was
returning from India, he met him in a mountain pass bare
footed and carrying one sandal in his hand1. When this was
reported, his coffin was opened and was found to contain
nothing but the other sandal which was long preserved as a
precious relic in the Shao-Lin temple.
Wu-Ti adopted many of the habits of a bonze. He was a
strict vegetarian, expounded the scriptures in public and wrote
a work on ritual. He thrice retired into a monastery and wore
the dress of a Bhikkhu. These retirements were apparently of
short duration and his ministers twice redeemed him by heavy
payments.
In 538 a hair of the Buddha was sent by the king of Fu-nan
and received with great ceremony. In the next year a mission
was despatched to Magadha to obtain Sanskrit texts. It returned
in 546 with a large collection of manuscripts and accompanied
by the learned Paramartha who spent twenty years in trans
lating them2. Wu-Ti, in his old age, became stricter. All luxury
was suppressed at Court, but he himself always wore full dress
and showed the utmost politeness, even to the lowest officials.
He was so reluctant to inflict the punishment of death that
crime increased. In 547 he became a monk for the third time
and immediately afterwards the events connected with Hou-
Ching (briefly sketched above) began to trouble the peace of
his old age. During the siege of Nanking he was obliged to
depart from his vegetarian diet and eat eggs. When he was told
that his capital was taken he merely said, "I obtained the
kingdom through my own efforts and through me it has been
lost. So I need not complain."
Hou-Ching proceeded to the palace, but3, overcome with awe,
knelt down before Wu-Ti who merely said, "I am afraid you
must be fatigued by the trouble it has cost you to destroy my
kingdom." Hou-Ching was ashamed and told his officers that
1 The legend does not fit in well with chronology since Sung-Yiin is said to have
returned from India in 522.
2 See Takakusu in J.E.A.S. 1905, p. 33.
8 Mailla, Hist. Gdn. de la Chine, p. 369.
XLIII] CHINA 257
he had never felt such fear before and would never dare to see
Wu-Ti again. Nevertheless, the aged Emperor was treated
with indignity and soon died of starvation. His end, though
melancholy, was peaceful compared with that in store for Hou-
Ching who, after two years of fighting and murdering, assumed
the imperial title, but immediately afterwards was defeated and
slain. The people ate his body in the streets of Nanking and his
own wife is said to have swallowed mouthfuls of his flesh.
One of Wu-Ti's sons, Yiian-Ti, who reigned from 552 to 555,
inherited his father's temper and fate with this difference that
he was a Taoist, not a Buddhist. He frequently resided in the
temples of that religion, studied its scriptures and expounded
them to his people. A great scholar, he had accumulated 140,000
volumes, but when it was announced to him in his library that
the troops of Wei were marching on his capital, he yielded with
out resistance and burnt his books, saying that they had proved
of no use in this extremity.
This alternation of imperial patronage in the south may have
been the reason why Wen Hsiian Ti, the ruler of Northern Ch'i1,
and for the moment perhaps the most important personage in
China, summoned Buddhist and Taoist priests to a discussion
in 555. Both religions could not be true, he said, and one must
be superfluous. After hearing the arguments of both he decided
in favour of Buddhism and ordered the Taoists to become bonzes
on pain of death. Only four refused and were executed.
Under the short Ch'en dynasty (557-589) the position of
Buddhism continued favourable. The first Emperor, a mild and
intelligent sovereign, though circumstances obliged him to put
a great many people out of the way, retired to a monastery after
reigning for two years. But in the north there was a temporary
reaction. Wu-Ti, of the Northern Chou dynasty2, first of all
defined the precedence of the three religions as Confucianism,
Taoism, Buddhism and then, in 575, prohibited the two latter,
ordering temples to be destroyed and priests to return to the
world. But as usual the persecution was not of long duration.
Five years later Wu-Ti's son withdrew his father's edict and
in 582, the founder of the Sui dynasty, gave the population
permission to become monks. He may be said to have used
258 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
Buddhism as his basis for restoring the unity of the Empire
and in his old age he became devout. The Sui annals observe
that Buddhist books had become more numerous under this
dynasty than those of the Confucianists, and no less than three
collections of the Tripitaka were made between 594 and 616.
With the seventh century began the great Tang dynasty
(620-907). Buddhism had now been known to the rulers of
China for about 550 years. It began as a religion tolerated but
still regarded as exotic and not quite natural for the sons of
Han. It had succeeded in establishing itself as the faith of the
majority among both Tartars and Chinese. The rivalry of
Taoism was only an instance of that imitation which is the
sincerest flattery. Though the opposition of the mandarins
assumed serious proportions whenever they could induce an
Emperor to share their views, yet the hostile attitude of the
Government never lasted long and was not shared by the mass
of the people. It is clear that the permissions to practise
Buddhism which invariably followed close on the prohibitions
were a national relief. Though Buddhism tended to mingle with
Taoism and other indigenous ideas, the many translations of
Indian works and the increasing intercourse between Chinese and
Hindus had diffused a knowledge of its true tenets and practice.
The T'ang dynasty witnessed a triangular war between Con
fucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. As a rule Confucianism
attacked the other two as base superstitions but sometimes, as
in the reign of Wu Tsung, Taoism seized a chance of being able
to annihilate Buddhism. This war continued under the Northern
Sung, though the character of Chinese Buddhism changed, for
the Contemplative School, which had considerable affinities to
Taoism, became popular at the expense of the T'ien T'ai. After
the Northern Sung (except under the foreign Mongol dynasty)
we feel that, though Buddhism was by no means dead and from
time to time flourished exceedingly, yet Confucianism had
established its claim to be the natural code and creed of the
scholar and statesman. The Chinese Court remained a strange
place to the end but scholarship and good sense had a large
measure of success in banishing extravagance from art and
literature. Yet, alas, the intellectual life of China lost more in
fire and brilliancy than it gained in sanity. Probably the most
critical times for literature and indeed for thought were those
XLHI] CHINA 259
brief periods under the Sui and Tang1 when Buddhist and Taoist
books were accepted as texts for the public examinations and
the last half century of the Northern Sung, when the educational
reforms of Wang An Shih were intermittently in force. The
innovations were cancelled in all cases. Had they lasted,
Chinese style and mentality might have been different.
The T'ang dynasty, though on the whole favourable to
Buddhism, and indeed the period of its greatest prosperity,
opened with a period of reaction. To the founder, Kao Tsu,
is attributed the saying that Confucianism is as necessary to
the Chinese as wings to a bird or water to a fish. The imperial
historiographer Fu I2 presented to his master a memorial
blaming Buddhism because it undervalued natural relationships
and urging that monks and nuns should be compelled to marry.
He was opposed by Hsiao Yii3, who declared that hell was made
for such people as his opponent — an argument common to many
religions. The Emperor followed on the whole advice of Fu I.
Magistrates were ordered to inquire into the lives of monks and
nuns. Those found pure and sincere were collected in the large
establishments. The rest were ordered to return to the world
and the smaller religious houses were closed. Kao Tsu abdicated
in 627 but his son Tai Tsung continued his religious policy, and
the new Empress was strongly anti-Buddhist, for when mortally
ill she forbade her son to pray for her recovery in Buddhist
shrines. Yet the Emperor cannot have shared these sentiments
at any rate towards the end of his reign4. He issued an edict
allowing every monastery to receive five new monks and the
1 See Biot, Hist, de ^instruction publique en Chine, pp. 289, 313.
a /jffiZffi. Is celebrated in Chinese history as one of the greatest opponents
of Buddhism. He collected all the objections to it in 10 books and warned his son
against it on his death bed. Giles, Biog. Diet. 589.
8 IsJra. An important minister and apparently a man of talent but of
yiTn WP
ungovernable and changeable temper. In 639 he obtained the Emperor's leave to
become a priest but soon left his monastery. The Emperor ordered him to be
canonized under the name Pure but Narrow. Giles, Biog. Diet. 722. The monk
Fa-Lin •C also attacked the views of Fu I in two treatises which have been
incorporated in the Chinese Tripitaka. See Nanjio, Cat. Nos. 1500, 1501.
4 Subsequently a story grew up that his soul had visited hell during a prolonged
fainting fit after which he recovered and became a devout Buddhist. See chap, xi
of the Romance called Hsi-yu-chi, a fantastic travesty of Hsiian Chuang's travels,
and Wieger, Textes Historiques, p. 1585.
260 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
celebrated journey of Hsiian Chuang1 was made in his reign.
When the pilgrim returned from India, he was received with
public honours and a title was conferred on him. Learned monks
were appointed to assist him in translating the library he had
brought back and the account of his travels was presented to
the Emperor who also wrote a laudatory preface to his version
of the Prajnaparamita. It was in this reign also that Nestorian
missionaries first appeared in China and were allowed to settle
in the capital. Diplomatic relations were maintained with India.
The Indian Emperor Harsha sent an envoy in 641 and two
Chinese missions were despatched in return. The second, led
by Wang Hsiian-Ts'e2, did not arrive until after the death of
Harsha when a usurper had seized the throne. Wang Hsiian-
Ts'e collected a small army in Tibet, dethroned the usurper and
brought him as a prisoner to China.
The latter half of the seventh century is dominated by the
figure of the Dowager Empress Wu, the prototype of the cele
brated lady who took charge of China's fate in our own day and,
like her, superhuman in decision and unscrupulousness, yet
capable of inspiring loyalty. She was a concubine of the Emperor
Tai Tsung and when he died in 649 lived for a short time as a
Buddhist nun. The eventful life of Wu Hou, who was at least
successful in maintaining order at home and on the frontiers,
belongs to the history of China rather than of Buddhism. She
was not an ornament of the faith nor an example of its principles,
but, mindful of the protection it had once afforded her, she gave
it her patronage even to the extent of making a bonze named
Huai I3 the minister of her mature passions when she was nearly
1 ^-5*^ . This name has been transliterated in an extraordinary number of
ways. See B.E.F.E.O. 1905, pp. 424-430. Giles gives Hsiian Chuang in his Chinese
Dictionary, but Hsiian Tsang in his Biographical Dictionary. Probably the latter is
more correct. Not only is the pronunciation of the characters variable, but the
character j^T was tabooed as being part of the Emperor K'ang Hsi's personal
name and ~TQ substituted for it. Hence the spelling Yuan Chuang.
2 ^ jfejp[. See Vincent Smith, Early History of India, pp. 326-327, and
Giles, Biog. Diet., s.v. Wang Hsiian-T'se. This worthy appears to have gone to
India again in 657 to offer robes at the holy places.
3 tPI • ^ome °^ ^ne principal statues in the caves of Lung-men were made
at her expense, but other parts of these caves seem to date from at least 500 A.D.
Chavannes, Mission Archeol. tome i, deuxieme partie.
XLIII] CHINA 261
seventy years old. A magnificent temple, at which 10,000 men
worked daily, was built for him, but the Empress was warned
that he was collecting a body of vigorous monks nominally for
its service, but really for political objects. She ordered these
persons to be banished. Huai I was angry and burnt the temple.
The Empress at first merely ordered it to be rebuilt, but finding
that Huai I was growing disrespectful, she had him assassinated.
We hear that the Mahamegha-sutra1 was presented to her
and circulated among the people with her approval. About 690
she assumed divine honours and accommodated these preten
sions to Buddhism by allowing herself to be styled Mai trey a or
Kuan -y in. After her death at the age of 80, there does not appear
to have been any religious change, for two monks were appointed
to high office and orders were issued that Buddhist and Taoist
temples should be built in every Department. But the earlier
part of the reign of Hsiian Tsung2 marks a temporary reaction.
It was represented to him that rich families wasted their
substance on religious edifices and that the inmates were well-
to-do persons desirous of escaping the burdens of public service.
He accordingly forbade the building of monasteries, making of
images and copying of sutras, and 12,000 monks were ordered
to return to the world. In 725 he ordered a building known as
"Hall of the Assembled Spirits" to be renamed "Hall of As
sembled Worthies," because spirits were mere fables.
In the latter part of his life he became devout though ad
dicted to Taoism rather than Buddhism. But he must have
outgrown his anti-Buddhist prejudices, for in 730 the seventh
collection of the Tripitaka was made under his auspices. Many
poets of this period such as Su Chin and the somewhat later
Liu Tsung Yuan3 were Buddhists and the paintings of the great
Wu Tao-tzu and Wang-wei (painter as well as poet) glowed with
the inspiration of the T'ien-t'ai teaching. In 740 there were
in the city of Ch'ang-An alone sixty-four monasteries and
1 ^||L*$§£. Ta-Yun-Ching. See J.A. 1913, p. 149. The late Dowager Empress
also was fond of masquerading as Kuan-yin but it does not appear that the per
formance was meant to be taken seriously.
2 "That romantic Chinese reign of Genso (713-756) which is the real absolu
culmination of Chinese genius." Fenollosa, Epochs of Chinese and Japanese ar
I. 102.
262 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
twenty-seven nunneries. A curious light is thrown on the in
consistent and composite character of Chinese religious senti
ment — as noticeable to-day as it was twelve hundred years ago
— by the will of Yao Ch'ung1 a statesman who presented a
celebrated anti-Buddhist memorial to this Emperor. In his
will he warns his children solemnly against the creed which he
hated and yet adds the following direction. ''When I am dead,
on no account perform for me the ceremonies of that mean
religion. But if you feel unable to follow orthodoxy in every
respect, then yield to popular custom and from the first seventh
day after my death until the last (i.e. seventh) seventh day, let
mass be celebrated by the Buddhist clergy seven times: and
when, as these masses require, you must offer gifts to me, use
the clothes which I wore in life and do not use other valuable
things."
In 751 a mission was sent to the king of Ki-pin2. The staff
included Wu-K'ung3, also known as Dharmadhatu, who re
mained some time in India, took the vows and ultimately
returned to China with many books and relics. It is probable
that in this and the following centuries Hindu influence reached
the outlying province of Yunnan directly through Burma4.
Letters, art and pageantry made the Court of Hsiian Tsung
brilliant, but the splendour faded and his reign ended tragically
in disaster and rebellion. The T'ang dynasty seemed in danger
of collapse. But it emerged successfully from these troubles
and continued for a century and a half. During the whole of
this period the Emperors with one exception5 were favourable
to Buddhism, and the latter half of the eighth century marks
in Buddhist history an epoch of increased popularity among the
masses but also the spread of ritual and doctrinal corruption,
for it is in these years that its connection with ceremonies for
the repose and honour of the dead became more intimate.
•at*.
pT| £-C**
2 P*ft >^ ' ^e mean*n& °f this name appears to vary at different times. At this
period it is probably equivalent to Kapisa or N.E. Afghanistan.
4 SeeB.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 161. This does not exclude the possibility of an opposite
current, viz. Chinese Buddhism flowing into Burma.
6 Wu-Tsung, 841-847.
XLm] CHINA 263
These middle and later T'ang Emperors were not exclusive
Buddhists. According to the severe judgment of their own
officials, they were inclined to unworthy and outlandish
superstitions. Many of them were under the influence of
eunuchs, magicians and soothsayers, and many of those who
were not assassinated died from taking the Taoist medicine
called Elixir of Immortality. Yet it was not a period of deca
dence and dementia. It was for China the age of Augustus, not
of Heliogabalus. Art and literature flourished and against Han-
Yii, the brilliant adversary of Buddhism, may be set Liu Tsung
Yuan1, a writer of at least equal genius who found in it his
inspiration. A noble school of painting grew up in the Buddhist
monasteries and in a long line of artists may be mentioned the
great name of Wu Tao-tzu, whose religious pictures such as
Kuan-yin, Purgatory and the death of the Buddha obtained
for him a fame which is still living. Among the streams which
watered this paradise of art and letters should doubtless be
counted the growing importance of Central and Western Asia
in Chinese policy and the consequent influx of their ideas. In
the mid T'ang period Manichseism, Nestorianism and Zoro-
astrianism all were prevalent in China. The first was the religion
of the Uigurs. So long as the Chinese had to keep on good terms
with this tribe Manichaeism was respected, but when they were
defeated by the Kirghiz and became unimportant, it was abruptly
suppressed (843). In this period, too, Tibet became of great
importance for the Chinese. Their object was to keep open the
passes leading to Ferghana and India. But the Tibetans some
times combined with the Arabs, who had conquered Turkestan,
to close them and in 763 they actually sacked Chang An. China
endeavoured to defend herself by making treaties with the
Indian border states, but in 175 the Arabs inflicted a disastrous
defeat on her troops. A treaty of peace was subsequently made
with Tibet2.
When Su-Tsung (756-762), the son of Hsuan-Tsung, was
safely established on the throne, he began to show his devotion
to Buddhism. He installed a chapel in the Palace which was
1 " Liu-Tsung- Yuan has left behind him much that for purity of style and felicity
of expression has rarely been surpassed," Giles, Chinese Literature, p. 191.
2 Apparently in 783 A.D. See Waddell's articles on Ancient Historical Edicts
at Lhasa in J.R.A.S. 1909, 1910, 1911.
264 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
served by several hundred monks and caused his eunuchs and
guards to dress up as Bodhisattvas and Genii. His ministers,
who were required to worship these maskers, vainly remon
strated as also when he accepted a sort of Sibylline book from
a nun who alleged that she had ascended to heaven and received
it there.
The next Emperor, Tai-Tsung, was converted to Buddhism
by his Minister Wang Chin1, a man of great abilities who was
subsequently sentenced to death for corruption, though the
Emperor commuted the sentence to banishment. Tai-Tsung
expounded the scriptures in public himself and the sacred books
were carried from one temple to another in state carriages with
the same pomp as the sovereign. In 768 the eunuch Yii Chao-fin2
built a great Buddhist temple dedicated to the memory of the
Emperor's deceased mother. In spite of his minister's remon
strances, His Majesty attended the opening and appointed
1000 monks and nuns to perform masses for the dead annually
on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. This anniversary
became generally observed as an All Souls' Day, and is still
one of the most popular festivals in China. Priests both Buddhist
and Taoist recite prayers for the departed, rice is scattered
abroad to feed hungry ghosts and clothes are burnt to be used
by them in the land of shadows. Large sheds are constructed
in which are figures representing scenes from the next world
and the evening is enlivened by theatricals, music and fire
works3.
The establishment of this festival was due to the celebrated
teacher Amogha (Pu-k'ung), and marks the official recognition
by Chinese Buddhism of those services for the dead which have
rendered it popular at the cost of forgetting its better aspects.
Amogha was a native of Ceylon (or, according to others, of
Northern India), who arrived in China in 719 with his teacher
Vajrabodhi. After the latter 's death he revisited India and
Ceylon in search of books and came back in 746. He wished to
return to his own country, but permission was refused and
until his death in 774 he was a considerable personage at Court,
8 See Eitcl, Handbook of Chinese. Buddhism, p. 185 s.v. Ullambana, a somewhat
doubtful word, apparently rendered into Chinese as Yu-lan-p'en.
XLiiil CHINA 265
receiving high rank and titles. The Chinese Tripitaka contains
108 translations1 ascribed to him, mostly of a tan trie character,
though to the honour of China it must be said that the erotic
mysticism of some Indian tantras never found favour there.
Amogha is a considerable, though not auspicious, figure in the
history of Chinese Buddhism, and, so far as such changes can
be the work of one man, on him rests the responsibility of
making it become in popular estimation a religion specially
concerned with funeral rites2.
Some authors3 try to prove that the influx of Nestorianism
under the T'ang dynasty had an important influence on the
later development of Buddhism in China and Japan and in
particular that it popularized these services for the dead. But
this hypothesis seems to me unproved and unnecessary. Such
ceremonies were an essential part of Chinese religion and no
faith could hope to spread, if it did not countenance them : they
are prominent in Hinduism and not unknown to Pali Buddhism4.
Further the ritual used in China and Japan has often only a
superficial resemblance to Christian masses for the departed.
Part of it is magical and part of it consists in acquiring merit
by the recitation of scriptures which have no special reference
to the dead. This merit is then formally transferred to them.
Doubtless Nestorianism, in so far as it was associated with
Buddhism, tended to promote the worship of Bodhisattvas and
prayers addressed directly to them, but this tendency existed
independently and the Nestorian monument indicates not that
Nestorianism influenced Buddhism but that it abandoned the
doctrine of the atonement.
In 819 a celebrated incident occurred. The Emperor Hsien-
Tsung had been informed that at the Fa-men monastery in
Shen-si a bone of the Buddha was preserved which every thirty
years exhibited miraculous powers. As this was the auspicious
year, he ordered the relic to be brought in state to the capital
1 Sec Nanjio Catalogue, pp. 445-448.
2 He is also said to have introduced the images of the Four Kings which arc now
found in every temple. A portrait of him by Li Chien is reproduced in Tajima's
Mailer pieces, vol. vm, plate ix. The artist was perhaps his contemporary.
3 E.g. Sacki, The Nestor ian Monument in China, 1916. See also above, p. 217.
* See Khuddaka-Patha, 7; Peta Vatthu, 1, 5 and the commentary; Milinda
Panha, iv. 8, 29; and for modern practices my chapter on Siam, and Copleston,
Buddhism, p. 445.
266 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
and lodged in the Imperial Palace, after which it was to make
the round of the monasteries in the city. This proceeding called
forth an animated protest from Han-Yii1, one of the best known
authors and statesmen then living, who presented a memorial,
still celebrated as a masterpiece. The following extract will give
an idea of its style. "Your Servant is well aware that your
Majesty does not do this (give the bone such a reception) in
the vain hope of deriving advantage therefrom but that in the
fulness of our present plenty there is a desire to comply with
the wishes of the people in the celebration at the capital of
this delusive mummery.... For Buddha was a barbarian. His
language was not the language of China. His clothes were of
an alien cut. He did not utter the maxims of our ancient rulers
nor conform to the customs which they have handed down.
He did not appreciate the bond between prince and minister,
the tie between father and son. Had this Buddha come to our
capital in the flesh, your Majesty might have received him with
a few words of admonition, giving him a banquet and a suit
of clothes, before sending him out of the country with an escort
of soldiers.
" But what are the facts? The bone of a man long since dead
and decomposed is to be admitted within the precincts of the
Imperial Palace. Confucius said, 'respect spiritual beings but
keep them at a distance.' And so when princes of old paid
visits of condolence, it was customary to send a magician in
advance with a peach-rod in his hand, to expel all noxious
influences before the arrival of his master. Yet now your
Majesty is about to introduce without reason a disgusting
object, personally taking part in the proceedings without the
intervention of the magician or his wand. Of the officials not
one has raised his voice against it : of the Censors2 not one has
pointed out the enormity of such an act. Therefore your servant,
overwhelmed with shame for the Censors, implores your Majesty
that these bones may be handed over for destruction by fire
Some native critics, however, have doubted the authenticity of the
received text and the version inserted in the Official History seems to be a summary.
See Wieger, Textes Historiques, vol. in. pp. 1726 ff., and Giles, Chinese Literature,
pp. 200 ff .
2 The officials whose duty it was to remonstrate with the Emperor if he acted
wrongly.
XLIH] CHINA 267
or water, whereby the root of this great evil may be exter
minated for all time and the people may know how much the
wisdom of your Majesty surpasses that of ordinary men1."
The Emperor became furious when he read the memorial
and wished to execute its author on the spot. But Han-Yii's
many friends saved him and the sentence was commuted to
honourable banishment as governor of a distant town. Shortly
afterwards the Emperor died, not of Buddhism, but of the elixir
of immortality which made him so irritable that his eunuchs
put him out of the way. Han-Yti was recalled but died the next
year. Among his numerous works was one called Yuan Tao,
much of which was directed against non-Confucian forms of
religion. It is still a thesaurus of arguments for the opponents
of Buddhism and, let it be added, of Christianity.
It is not surprising that the prosperity of the Buddhist
church should have led to another reaction, but it came not
so much from the literary and sceptical class as from Taoism
which continued to enjoy the favour of the T'ang Emperors,
although they died one after another of drinking the elixir. The
Emperor Wu-Tsung was more definitely Taoist than his pre
decessors. In 843 he suppressed Manicheeism and in 845, at
the instigation of his Taoist advisers, he dealt Buddhism the
severest blow which it had yet received. In a trenchant edict2
he repeated the now familiar arguments that it is an alien
and maleficent superstition, unknown under the ancient and
glorious dynasties and injurious to the customs and morality of
the nation. Incidentally he testifies to its influence and popu
larity for he complains of the crowds thronging the temples
which eclipse the imperial palaces in splendour and the in
numerable monks and nuns supported by the contributions of
the people. Then, giving figures, he commands that 4600 great
temples and 40,000 smaller rural temples be demolished, that
their enormous3 landed property be confiscated, that 260,500
monks and nuns be secularized and 150,000 temple slaves4 set
free. These statistics are probably exaggerated and in any case
the Emperor had barely time to execute his drastic orders,
1 Giles, Chinese Literature, pp. 201, 202 — somewhat abbreviated.
2 See Wieger, Textes Historiques, vol. m. pp. 1744 ff.
8 "Thousands of ten-thousands of Ch'ing." A Ch'ing^ 15-13 acres.
4 Presumably similar to the temple slaves of Camboja, etc.
E. ra. 18
268 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
though all despatch was used on account of the private fortunes
which could be amassed incidentally by the executive.
As the Confucian chronicler of his doings observes, he
suppressed Buddhism on the ground that it is a superstition
but encouraged Taoism which is no better. Indeed the impartial
critic must admit that it is much worse, at any rate for Emperors.
Undeterred by the fate of his predecessors Wu-Tsung began to
take the elixir of immortality. He suffered first from nervous
irritability, then from internal pains, which were explained as
due to the gradual transformation of his bones, and at the
beginning of 846 he became dumb. No further explanation of
his symptoms was then given him and his uncle Hsiian Tsung
was raised to the throne. His first act was to revoke the anti-
Buddhist edict, the Taoist priests who had instigated it were
put to death, the Emperor and his ministers vied in the work
of reconstruction and very soon things became again much as
they were before this great but brief tribulation. Nevertheless,
in 852 the Emperor received favourably a memorial complaining
of the Buddhist reaction and ordered that all monks and nuns
must obtain special permission before taking orders. He was
beginning to fall under Taoist influence and it is hard to repress
a smile on reading that seven years later he died of the elixir.
His successor I-Tsung (860-874), who died at the age of 30, was
an ostentatious and dissipated Buddhist. In spite of the re
monstrances of his ministers he again sent for the sacred bone
from Fa-men and received it with even more respect than his
predecessor had shown, for he met it at the Palace gate and
bowed before it.
During the remainder of the T'ang dynasty there is little
of importance to recount about Buddhism. It apparently
suffered no reverses, but history is occupied with the struggle
against the Tartars. The later T'ang Emperors entered into
alliance with various frontier tribes, but found it hard to keep
them in the position of vassals. The history of China from the
tenth to the thirteenth centuries is briefly as follows. The T'ang
dynasty collapsed chiefly owing to the incapacity of the later
Emperors and was succeeded by a troubled period in which five
short dynasties founded by military adventurers, three of whom
were of Turkish race, rose and fell in 53 years1. In 960 the
1 One Emperor of this epoch, Shih-Tsung of the later Chou dynasty, suppressed
XLIH] CHINA 269
Sung dynasty united the Chinese elements in the Empire,
but had to struggle against the Khitan Tartars in the north
east and against the kingdom of Hsia in the north-west.
With the twelfth century appeared the Kins or Golden
Tartars, who demolished the power of the Khitans in alliance
with the Chinese but turned against their allies and conquered
all China north of the Yang-tze and continually harassed,
though they did not capture, the provinces to the south of it
which constituted the reduced empire of the Sungs. But their
power waned in its turn before the Mongols, who, under Chinggiz
Khan and Ogotai, conquered the greater part of northern Asia
and eastern Europe. In 1232 the Sung Emperor entered into
alliance with the Mongols against the Kins, with the ultimate
result that though the Kins were swept away, Khubilai,
the Khan of the Mongols, became Emperor of all China in
1280.
The dynasties of T'ang and Sung mark two great epochs in
the history of Chinese art, literature and thought, but whereas
the virtues and vices of the T'ang may be summed up as genius
and extravagance, those of the Sung are culture and tameness.
But this summary judgment does not do justice to the painters,
particularly the landscape painters, of the Sung and it is
noticeable that many of the greatest masters, including Li
Lung-Mien1, were obviously inspired by Buddhism. The school
which had the greatest influence on art and literature was the
Ch'an2 or contemplative sect better known by its Japanese
name Zen. Though founded by Bodhidharma it did not win
the sympathy and esteem of the cultivated classes until the
Sung period. About this time the method of block-printing
was popularized and there began a steady output of compre
hensive histories, collected works, encyclopaedias and biographies
which excelled anything then published in Europe. Antiquarian
research and accessible editions of classical writers were favour-
monasteries and coined bronze images into currency, declaring that Buddha, who in
so many births had sacrificed himself for mankind, would have no objection to his
statues being made useful. But in the South Buddhism flourished in the province
of Fukien under the princes of Min Rjn and the dynasty which called itself
Southern T'ang.
1 2 . See Kokka No. 309, 1916. 2 ji.
270 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
able to Confucianism, which had always been the religion of
the literati.
It is not surprising that the Emperors of this literary dynasty
were mostly temperate in expressing their religious emotions.
T'ai-Tsu, the founder, forbade cremation and remonstrated with
the Prince of T'ang, who was a fervent Buddhist. Yet he cannot
have objected to religion in moderation, for the first printed
edition of the Tripitaka was published in his reign (972) and
with a preface of his own. The early and thorough application
of printing to this gigantic Canon is a proof — if any were needed
— of the popular esteem for Buddhism.
Nor did this edition close the work of translation : 275 later
translations, made under the Northern Sung, are still extant and
religious intercourse with India continued. The names and
writings of many Hindu monks who settled in China are pre
served and Chinese continued to go to India. Still on the whole
there was a decrease in the volume of religious literature after
900 A.D.1 In the twelfth century the change was still more
remarkable. Nanjio does not record a single translation made
under the Southern Sung and it is the only great dynasty which
did not revise the Tripitaka.
The second Sung Emperor also, T'ai Tsung, was not hostile,
for he erected in the capital, at enormous expense, a stupa
360 feet high to contain relics of the Buddha. The fourth
Emperor, Jen-tsung, a distinguished patron of literature, whose
reign was ornamented by a galaxy of scholars, is said to have
appointed 50 youths to study Sanskrit but showed no particular
inclination towards Buddhism. Neither does it appear to have
been the motive power in the projects of the celebrated social
reformer, Wang An-Shih. But the dynastic history says that
he wrote a book full of Buddhist and Taoist fancies and, though
there is nothing specifically Buddhist in his political and econo
mic theories, it is clear from the denunciations against him that
his system of education introduced Buddhist and Taoist subjects
into the public examinations2. It is also clear that this system
was favoured by those Emperors of the Northern Sung dynasty
who were able to think for themselves. In 1087 it was abolished
1 The decrease in translations is natural for by this time Chinese versions had
been made of most works which had any claim to be translated.
2 See Biot, IS instruction publique en Chine, p. 350.
XLIII] CHINA 271
by the Empress Dowager acting as regent for the young Che
Tsung, but as soon as he began to reign in his own right he
restored it, and it apparently remained in force until the
collapse of the dynasty in 1127.
The Emperor Hui-Tsung (1101-1126) fell under the influence
of a Taoist priest named Lin Ling-Su1. This young man had
been a Buddhist novice in boyhood but, being expelled for
misconduct, conceived a hatred for his old religion. Under his
influence the Emperor not only reorganized Taoism, sanctioning
many innovations and granting many new privileges, but also
endeavoured to suppress Buddhism, not by persecution, but
by amalgamation. By imperial decree the Buddha and his
Arhats were enrolled in the Taoist pantheon: temples and
monasteries were allowed to exist only on condition of de
scribing themselves as Taoist and their inmates had the choice
of accepting that name or of returning to the world.
But there was hardly time to execute these measures,
so rapid was the reaction. In less than a year the insolence of
Lin Ling-Su brought about his downfall : the Emperor reversed
his edict and, having begun by suppressing Buddhism, ended
by oppressing Taoism. He was a painter of merit and perhaps
the most remarkable artist who ever filled a throne. In art he
probably drew no distinction between creeds and among the
pictures ascribed to him and preserved in Japan are some of
Buddhist subjects. But like Hsiian Tsung he came to a tragic
end, and in 1126 was carried into captivity by the Kin Tartars
among whom he died.
Fear of the Tartars now caused the Chinese to retire south of
the Yang-tse and Hang-chow was made the seat of Government.
The century during which this beautiful city was the capital
did not produce the greatest names in Chinese history, but it
witnessed the perfection of Chinese culture, and the background
of impending doom heightens the brilliancy of this literary and
aesthetic life. Such a society was naturally eclectic in religion
but Buddhism of the Ch'an school enjoyed consideration and
contributed many landscape painters to the roll of fame. But
the most eminent and perhaps the most characteristic thinker
of the period was Chu-Hsi (1130-1200), the celebrated com-
272 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
mentator on Confucius who reinterpreted the master's writings
to the satisfaction of succeeding ages though in his own life he
aroused opposition as well as enthusiasm. Chu-Hsi studied
Buddhism in his youth and some have detected its influence in
his works, although on most important points he expressly
condemned it. I do not see that there is much definite Buddhism
in his philosophy, but if Mahay anism had never entered China
this new Confucianism would probably never have arisen or
would have taken another shape. Though the final result may
be anti-Buddhist yet the topics chosen and the method of
treatment suggest that the author felt it necessary to show that
the Classics could satisfy intellectual curiosity and supply
spiritual ideals just as well as this Indian religion. Much of his
expositions is occupied with cosmology, and he accepts the
doctrine of world periods, recurring in an eternal series of growth
and decline : also he teaches not exactly transmigration but the
transformation of matter into various living forms1. His ac
counts of sages and saints point to ideals which have much in
common with Arhats and Buddhas and, in dealing with the
retribution of evil, he seems to admit that when the universe is
working properly there is a natural Karma by which good or
bad actions receive even in this life rewards in kind, but that
in the present period of decline nature has become vitiated so
that vice and virtue no longer produce appropriate results.
Chu-Hsi had a celebrated controversy with Lu Chiu-Yuan2, a
thinker of some importance who, like himself, is commemorated
in the tablets of Confucian temples, although he was accused
of Buddhist tendencies. He held that learning was not in
dispensable and that the mind could in meditation rise above
the senses and attain to a perception of the truth. Although he
strenuously denied the charge of Buddhist leanings, it is clear
that his doctrine is near in spirit to the mysticism of Bodhi-
dharma and sets no store on the practical ethics and studious
habits which are the essence of Confucianism.
The attitude of the Yuan or Mongol dynasty (1280-1368)
towards Buddhism was something new. Hitherto, whatever
may have been the religious proclivities of individual Emperors,
1 See Le Gall, Varields Sinologiqi(es,No.6 Tchou-Hi: Sa doctrine Son influence.
Shanghai, 1894, pp. 90, 122.
Compare the similar doctrines of Wang Yang-Ming.
XLIII] CHINA 273
the Empire had been a Confucian institution. A body of official
and literary opinion always strong and often overwhelmingly
strong regarded imperial patronage of Buddhism or Taoism as
a concession to the whims of the people, as an excrescence on
the Son of Heaven's proper faith or even a perversion of it.
But the Mongol Court had not this prejudice and Khubilai,
like other members of his house1 and like Akbar in India, was
the patron of all the religions professed by his subjects. His
real object was to encourage any faith which would humanize
his rude Mongols. Buddhism was more congenial to them than
Confucianism and besides, they had made its acquaintance
earlier. Even before Khubilai became Emperor, one of his most
trusted advisers was a Tibetan lama known as Pagspa, Bashpa
or Pa-ssu-pa2. He received the title of Kuo-Shih, and after his
death his brother succeeded to the same honours.
Khubilai also showed favour to Mohammedans, Christians,
Jews and Confucianists, but little to Taoists. This prejudice was
doubtless due to the suggestions of his Buddhist advisers, for,
as we have seen, there was often rivalry between the two reli
gions and on two occasions at least (in the reigns of Hui Tsung
and Wu Tsung) the Taoists made determined, if unsuccessful,
attempts to destroy or assimilate Buddhism. Khubilai received
complaints that the Taoists represented Buddhism as an off
shoot of Taoism and that this objectionable perversion of
truth and history was found in many of their books, particularly
the Hua-Hu-Ching3. An edict was issued ordering all Taoist
books to be burnt with the sole exception of the Tao-Te-Ching
but it does not appear that the sect was otherwise persecuted.
The Yuan dynasty was consistently favourable to Buddhism.
Enormous sums were expended on subventions to monasteries,
printing books and performing public ceremonies. Old restric
tions were removed and no new ones were imposed. But the
sect which was the special recipient of the imperial favour was
1 E.g. his elder brother Mangku who showed favour to Buddhists, Moham
medans and Nestorians alike. -He himself wished to obtain Christian teachers from
the Pope, by the help of Marco Polo, but probably merely from curiosity.
2 More accurately hPhags-pa. It is a title rather than a name, being the Tibetan
equivalent of Arya. Khubilai seems to be the correct transcription of the Emperor's
name. The Tibetan and Chinese transcriptions are Hvopilai and Hu-pi-lieh.
3 For this curious work see B.E.F.E.O. 1908, p. 515, and J.A. 1913, i, pp. 116-
132. For the destruction of Taoist books see Chavannes in T'oung Poo, 1904, p. 366.
274 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
not one of the Chinese schools but Lamaism, the form of
Buddhism developed in Tibet, which spread about this time to
northern China, and still exists there. It does not appear that
in the Yuan period Lamaism and other forms of Buddhism
were regarded as different sects1. A lamaist ecclesiastic was the
hierarchical head of all Buddhists, all other religions being
placed under the supervision of a special board.
The Mongol Emperors paid attention to religious literature.
Khubilai saw to it that the monasteries in Peking were well
supplied with books and ordered the bonzes to recite them on
stated days. A new collection of the Tripitaka (the ninth) was
published 1285-87. In 1312, the Emperor Jen-tsung ordered
further translations to be made into Mongol and later had the
whole Tripitaka copied in letters of gold. It is noticeable that
another Emperor, Cheng Tsung, had the Book of Filial Piety
translated into Mongol and circulated together with a brief
preface by himself.
It is possible that the Buddhism of the Yuan dynasty was
tainted with Saktism from which the Lama monasteries of
Peking (in contrast to all other Buddhist sects in China) are
not wholly free. The last Emperor, Shun-ti, is said to have
witnessed indecent plays and dances in the company of Lamas
and created a scandal which contributed to the downfall of
the dynasty2. In its last years we hear of some opposition to
Buddhism and of a reaction in favour of Confucianism, in conse
quence of the growing numbers and pretensions of the Lamas.
Whole provinces were under their control and Chinese
historians dwell bitterly on their lawlessness. It was a common
abuse for wealthy persons to induce a Lama to let their property
be registered in his name and thus avoid all payment of taxes
on the ground that priests were exempt from taxation by law3.
The Mongols were driven out by the native Chinese dynasty
known as Ming, which reigned from 1368 to 1644. It is not
1 At the present day an ordinary Chinese regards a Lama as quite different from
a Hoshang or Buddhist monk.
2 The Yiian Emperors were no doubt fond of witnessing religious theatricals
in the Palace. See for extracts front Chinese authors, New China Review, 1919,
pp. G8 ff. Compare the performances of the T'ang Emperor Su Tsung mentioned
above.
8 For the ecclesiastical abuses of the time see Kbppen, n. 103, and de Mailla,
Hisloirc dc la Chine, ix. 475, 538.
XLIII] CHINA 275
easy to point out any salient features in religious activity or
thought during this period, but since the Ming claimed to
restore Chinese civilization interrupted by a foreign invasion,
it was natural that they should encourage Confucianism as
interpreted by Chu-Hsi. Yet Buddhism, especially Lamaism,
acquired a new political importance. Both for the Mings and
for the earlier Manchu Emperors the Mongols were a serious
and perpetual danger, and it was not until the eighteenth
century that the Chinese Court ceased to be preoccupied by
the fear that the tribes might unite and again overrun the
Empire. But the Tibetan and Mongolian hierarchy had an
extraordinary power over these wild horsemen and the Govern
ment of Peking won and used their goodwill by skilful diplomacy,
the favours shown being generally commensurate to the gravity
of the situation. Thus when the Grand Lama visited Peking in
1652 he was treated as an independent prince: in 1908 he was
made to kneel.
Few Ming Emperors showed much personal interest in
religion and most of them were obviously guided by political
considerations. They wished on the one hand to conciliate the
Church and on the other to prevent the clergy from becoming
too numerous or influential. Hence very different pictures may
be drawn according as we dwell on the favourable or restrictive
edicts which were published from time to time. Thus T'ai-Tsu,
the founder of the dynasty, is described by one authority as
always sympathetic to Buddhists and by another as a crowned
persecutor1. He had been a bonze himself in his youth but left
the cloister for the adventurous career which conducted him
to the throne. It is probable that he had an affectionate re
collection of the Church which once sheltered him, but also a
knowledge of its weaknesses and this knowledge moved him to
publish restrictive edicts as to the numbers and qualifications of
monks. On the other hand he attended sermons, received monks
in audience and appointed them as tutors to his sons. He revised
the hierarchy and gave appropriate titles to its various grades.
He also published a decree ordering that all monks should study
1 See Wieger, Texte* Historiques, in. p. 2013, and De Groot, Sectarianism and
Religious Persecution in China, I. p. 82. He is often called Hung Wu which is strictly
speaking the title of his reign. He was certainly capable of changing his mind, for
he degraded Mencius from his position in Confucian temples one year and restored
him the next.
276 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
three sutras (Lankavatara, Prajnaparamita and Vajracchedika),
and that three brief commentaries on these works should be
compiled (see Nanjio's Catalogue, 1613-15).
It is in this reign that we first hear of the secular clergy,
that is to say, persons who acted as priests but married and
did not live in monasteries. Decrees against them were issued
in 1394 and 1412, but they continued to increase. It is not clear
whether their origin should be sought in a desire to combine the
profits of the priesthood with the comforts of the world or in
an attempt to evade restrictions as to the number of monks.
In later times this second motive was certainly prevalent, but
the celibacy of the clergy is not strictly insisted on by Lamaists
and a lax observance of monastic rules1 was common under
the Mongol dynasty.
The third Ming Emperor, Ch'eng-tsu2, was educated by a
Buddhist priest of literary tastes named Yao Kuang-Hsiao3,
whom he greatly respected and promoted to high office. Never
theless he enacted restrictions respecting ordination and on one
occasion commanded that 1800 young men who presented
themselves to take the vows should be enrolled in the army
instead. His prefaces and laudatory verses were collected in a
small volume and included in the eleventh collection of the
Tripitaka4, called the Northern collection, because it was printed
at Peking. It was published with a preface of his own composition
and he wrote another to the work called the Liturgy of Kuan-
yin5, and a third introducing selected memoirs of various
remarkable monks6. His Empress had a vision in which she im
agined a sutra was revealed to her and published the same with
an introduction. He was also conspicuously favourable to the
Tibetan clergy. In 1403 he sent his head eunuch to Tibet to
invite the presence of Tsoh-kha-pa, who refused to come himself
1 See de Mailla, Histoire de la Chine, ix. p. 470.
2 Often called Yung-Lo which is strictly the title of his reign.
4 See Nanjio, Cat. 1613-16.
6 See Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, p. 398. The Emperor says: "So we,
the Ruler of the Empire... do hereby bring before men a mode for attaining to the
condition of supreme Wisdom. We therefore earnestly exhort all men... carefully
to study the directions of this work and faithfully to follow them."
8 Nanjio, Cat. 1620. See also 16. 1032 and 1657 for the Empress's sutra.
XLin] CHINA 277
but sent a celebrated Lama called Halima1. On arriving at the
capital Halima was ordered to say masses for the Emperor's
relatives. These ceremonies were attended by supernatural
manifestations and he received as a recognition of his powers
the titles of Prince of the Great Precious Law and Buddha of
the Western Paradise2. His three principal disciples were styled
Kuo Shih, and, agreeably to the precedent established under
the Yuan dynasty, were made the chief prelates of the whole
Buddhist Church. Since this time the Red or Tibetan Clergy
have been recognized as having precedence over the Grey or
Chinese.
In this reign the Chinese made a remarkable attempt to
assert their authority in Ceylon. In 1405 a mission was sent
with offerings to the Sacred Tooth and when it was ill received
a second mission despatched in 1407 captured the king of
Ceylon and carried him off as a prisoner to China. Ceylon paid
tribute for fifty years, but it does not appear that these pro
ceedings had much importance for religion3.
In the reigns of Ying Tsung and Ching-Ti4 (1436-64)
large numbers of monks were ordained, but, as on previous
occasions, the great increase of candidates led to the imposition
of restrictions and in 1458 an edict was issued ordering that
ordinations should be held only once a year. The influence of
the Chief Eunuchs during this period was great, and two suc
cessive holders of this post, Wang-Chen and Hsing-An5, were
both devoted Buddhists and induced the Emperors whom they
served to expend enormous sums on building monasteries and
performing ceremonies at which the Imperial Court were
present.
1 Or Kalima El^y \j mk m In Tibetan Karma de bshin gshegs-pa. He was the
fifth head of the Karma-pa school. See Chandra Das's dictionary, s.v., where a
reference is given to kLong-rdol-gsung-hbum. It is noticeable that the Karma-pa
is one of the older and more Tantric sects.
2 AW££3:> BS^^^ltffif^- YUan Shih K/ai pfefixed to
this latter the four characters
3 See Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither, pp. 75 ff.
4 When Ying Tsung was carried away by the Mongols in 1449 his brother
Ching-Ti was made Emperor. Though Ying Tsung was sent back in 1450, he was
not able to oust Ching-Ti from the throne till 1457.
278 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
The end of the fifteenth century is filled by two reigns, Hsien
Tsung and Hsiao Tsung. The former fell under the influence of
his favourite concubine Wan and his eunuchs to such an extent
that, in the latter part of his life, he ceased to see his ministers
and the chief eunuch became the real ruler of China. It is also
mentioned both in 1468 and 1483 that he was in the hands of
Buddhist priests who instructed him in secret doctrines and
received the title of Kuo-Shih and other distinctions. His son
Hsiao Tsung reformed these abuses: the Palace was cleansed:
the eunuchs and priests were driven out and some were executed :
Taoist books were collected and burnt. The celebrated writer
Wang Yang Ming1 lived in this reign. He defended and illus
trated the doctrine of Lu Chin-Yuan, namely that truth can
be obtained by meditation. To express intuitive knowledge,
he used the expression Liang Chih2 (taken from Mencius).
Liang Chih is inherent in all human minds, but in different
degrees, and can be developed or allowed to atrophy. To develop
it should be man's constant object, and in its light when pure
all things are understood and peace is obtained. The phrases of
the Great Learning "to complete knowledge," "investigate
things," and "rest in the highest excellence," are explained as
referring to the Liang Chih and the contemplation of the mind
by itself. We cannot here shut our eyes to the influence of
Bodhidharma and his school, however fervently Wang Yang
Ming may have appealed to the Chinese Classics.
The reign of Wu-tsung (1506-21) was favourable to
Buddhism. In 1507 40,000 men became monks, either Buddhist
or Taoist. The Emperor is said to have been learned in
Buddhist literature and to have known Sanskrit3 as well as
Mongol and Arabic, but he was in the hands of a band of eunuchs,
who were known as the eight tigers. In 1515 he sent an embassy
to Tibet with the object of inducing the Grand Lama to visit
Peking, but the invitation was refused and the Tibetans expelled
the mission with force. The next Emperor, Shih-T'sung (1522-
His real name was Wang Shou Jen
8 Though the ecclesiastical study of Sanskrit decayed under the Ming dynasty,
Yung-lo founded in 1407 a school of language for training interpreters at which
Sanskrit was taught among other tongues.
XLIII] CHINA 279
66), inclined to Taoism rather than Buddhism. He ordered the
images of Buddha in the Forbidden City to be destroyed, but
still appears to have taken part in Buddhist ceremonies at dif
ferent periods of his reign. Wan Li (1573-1620), celebrated in
the annals of porcelain manufacture, showed some favour to
Buddhism. He repaired many buildings at P'u-t'o and dis
tributed copies of the Tripitaka to the monasteries of his Empire.
In his edicts occurs the saying that Confucianism and Buddhism
are like the two wings of a bird : each requires the co-operation
of the other.
European missionaries first arrived during the sixteenth
century, and, had the Catholic Church been more flexible,
China might perhaps have recognized Christianity, not as the
only true religion but as standing on the same footing as
Buddhism and Taoism. The polemics of the early missionaries
imply that they regarded Buddhism as their chief rival. Thus
Ricci had a public controversy with a bonze at Hang-Chou,
and his principal pupil Hsu Kuang-Ch'i1 wrote a tract entitled
" The errors of the Buddhists exposed." Replies to these attacks
are preserved in the writings of the distinguished Buddhist
priest Shen Chu-Hung2.
In 1644 the Ming dynasty collapsed before the Manchus
and China was again under foreign rule. Unlike the Mongols,
the Manchus had little inclination to Buddhism. Even before
they had conquered China, their prince, T'ai Tsung, ordered
an inspection of monasteries and limited the number of monks.
But in this edict he inveighs only against the abuse of religion
and admits that "Buddha's teaching is at bottom pure and
chaste, true and sincere : by serving him with purity and piety,
one can obtain happiness3." Shun-Chih, the first Manchu
Emperor, wrote some prefaces to Buddhist works and enter
tained the Dalai Lama at Peking in 16524. His son and suc
cessor, commonly known as K'ang-Hsi (1662-1723), dallied
for a while with Christianity, but the net result of his religious
policy was to secure to Confucianism all that imperial favour
can give. I have mentioned above his Sacred Edict and the
8 De Groot, I.e. p. 93.
4 Some authorities say that he became a monk before he died, but the evidence
is not good. See Johnston in New China Review, Nos. 1 and 2, 1920.
280 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH. XLIII
partial favour which he showed to Buddhism. He gave donations
to the monasteries of P'u-t'o, Hang-chou and elsewhere: he
published the Kanjur with a preface of his own1 and the twelfth
and last collection of the Tripitaka was issued under the auspices
of his son and grandson. The latter, the Emperor Ch'ien Lung,
also received the Teshu Lama not only with honour, but with
interest and sympathy, as is clear from the inscription pre
served at Peking, in which he extols the Lama as a teacher of
spiritual religion2. He also wrote a preface to a sutra for
producing rain3 in which he says that he has ordered the old
editions to be carefully corrected and prayer and worship to be
offered, "so that the old forms which have been so beneficial
during former ages might still be blessed to the desired end."
Even the late Empress Dowager accepted the ministrations of
the present Dalai Lama when he visited Peking in 1908, al
though, to his great indignation she obliged him to kneel at
Court4. Her former colleague, the Empress Tzu-An was a
devout Buddhist. The statutes of the Manchu dynasty (printed
in 1818) contain regulations for the celebration of Buddhist
festivals at Court, for the periodical reading of sutras to promote
the imperial welfare, and for the performance of funeral rites.
Still on the whole the Manchu dynasty showed less favour to
Buddhism than any which preceded it and its restrictive edicts
limiting the number of monks and prescribing conditions for
ordination were followed by no periods of reaction. But the
vitality of Buddhism is shown by the fact that these restrictions
merely led to an increase of the secular clergy, not legally
ordained, who in their turn claimed the imperial attention.
Ch'ien Lung began in 1735 by giving them the alternative of
becoming ordinary laymen or of entering a monastery but this
drastic measure was considerably modified in the next few
years. Ultimately the secular clergy were allowed to continue
as such, if they could show good reason, and to have one disciple
each.
1 See T'oung Poo, 1909, p. 533.
2 See E. Ludwig, The visit of the Teshoo Lama to Peking, Tien Tsin Press, 1904.
3 The Ta-yiin-lung-ch'ing-yu-ching. Nanjio's Catalogue, Nos. 187-8, 970, and
see Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, pp. 417-9.
4 See for an account of his visit "The Dalai Lamas and their relations with
the Manchu Emperor of China" in T'oung Pao, 1910, p. 774.
CHAPTER XLIV
CHINA (continued)
THE CANON
THE Buddhist scriptures extant in the Chinese language are
known collectively as San Tsang1 or the three store -houses,
that is to say, Tripitaka. Though this usage is justified by both
eastern and European practice, it is not altogether happy, for
the Chinese thesaurus is not analogous to the Pali Canon or to
any collection of sacred literature known in India, being in
spite of its name arranged in four, not in three, divisions. It is
a great Corpus Scriptorum Sanctorum, embracing all ages and
schools, wherein translations of the most diverse Indian works
are supplemented by original compositions in Chinese. Imagine
a library comprising Latin translations of the Old and New
Testaments with copious additions from the Talmud and
Apocryphal literature; the writings of the Fathers, decrees of
Councils and Popes, together with the opera omnia of the
principal schoolmen and the early protestant reformers and you
will have some idea of this theological miscellany which has no
claim to be called a canon, except that all the works included
have at some time or other received a certain literary or
doctrinal hall-mark.
1
The collection is described in the catalogue compiled by
Bunyiu Nanjio2. It enumerates 1662 works which are classified
in four great divisions, (a) Sutra, (6) Vinaya, (c) Abhidharma,
(d) Miscellaneous. The first three divisions contain translations
only; the fourth original Chinese works as well.
The first division called Ching or Sutras amounts to nearly
two -thirds of the whole, for it comprises no less than 1081
1 •"•"* JJ8-. For an account of some of the scriptures here mentioned see
chap. xx.
2 A catalogue of the Chinese Translation of the Buddhist Tripitaka. Oxford,
Clarendon Press, 1893. An index to the Tokyo edition has been published by Fujii.
Meiji xxxi (1898). See too Forke, Katalog des Pekinger Tripitaka, 1916.
282 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
works and is subdivided as follows: (a) Mahayana Sutras, 541,
(6) Hinayana Sutras, 240, (c) Mahayana and Hinayana Sutras,
300 in number, admitted into the canon under the Sung and
Yuan dynasties, A.D. 960-1368. Thus whereas the first two sub
divisions differ in doctrine, the third is a supplement containing
later translations of both schools. The second subdivision, or
Hinayana Sutras, which is less numerous and complicated than
that containing the Mahayana Sutras, shows clearly the char
acter of the whole collection. It is divided into two classes
of which the first is called A-han, that is, Agama1. This com
prises translations of four works analogous to the Pali Nikayas,
though not identical with the texts which we possess, and also
numerous alternative translations of detached sutras. All four
were translated about the beginning of the fifth century whereas
the translations of detached sutras are for the most part earlier.
This class also contains the celebrated Sutra of Forty-two
Sections, and works like the Jataka-nidana. The second class
is styled Sutras of one translation2. The title is not used rigor
ously, but the works bearing it are relatively obscure and it is
not always clear to what Sanskrit texts they correspond. It
will be seen from the above that the Chinese Tripitaka is a
literary and bibliographical collection rather than an ecclesi
astical canon. It does not provide an authorized version for the
edification of the faithful, but it presents for the use of the
learned all translations of Indian works belonging to a particular
class which possess a certain age and authority.
The same characteristic marks the much richer collection
of Mahayana Sutras, which contains the works most esteemed
by Chinese Buddhists. It is divided into seven classes :
1. Jffcjg1. Pan-jo (Po-jo) or Prajnaparamita3.
2. §|f f|| . Pao-chi or Ratnakuta.
3. ;^C^j|. Ta-chi or Mahasannipata.
4. I|EJ||. Hua-yen or Avatamsaka.
2 Tan-i-ching j& j-j-Eat^ . Some of the works classed under Tan-i-ching appear
to exist in more than one form, e.g. Nanjio, Nos. 674 and 804.
3 These characters are commonly read Pojo by Chinese Buddhists but the
Japanese reading Hannya shows that the pronunciation of the first character was Pan.
XLIV] CHINA 283
5. y£Jg». Nieh-pan or Parinirvana.
I— I—.x'px.
6- 3L^§P^lS1iS$?. Sutras in more than one trans-
^••* r ^ H | ^ | -^r-i *^ M T » -• *
lation but not falling into any of the above five
classes.
1' iptl^MS?- Other sutras existing in only one trans
lation.
Each of the first five classes probably represents a collection
of sutras analogous to a Nikaya and in one sense a single work
but translated into Chinese several times, both in a complete
form and in extracts. Thus the first class opens with the majestic
Mahaprajnaparamita in 600 fasciculi and equivalent to 200,000
stanzas in Sanskrit. This is followed by several translations of
shorter versions including two of the little sutras called the
Heart of the Prajnaparamita, which fills only one leaf. There are
also six translations of the celebrated work known as the
Diamond-cutter1, which is the ninth sutra in the Mahaprajna
paramita and all the works classed under the heading Pan- jo
seem to be alternative versions of parts of this great Corpus.
The second and third classes are collections of sutras which
no longer exist as collections in Sanskrit, though the Sanskrit
text of some individual sutras is extant. That called Pao-chi
or Ratnakuta opens with a collection of forty -nine sutras which
includes the longer version of the Sukhavativyuha. This
collection is reckoned as one work, but the other items in the
same class are all or nearly all of them duplicate translations of
separate sutras contained in it. This is probably true of the
third class also. At least seven of the works included in it are
duplicate translations of the first, which is called Mahasannipata,
and the sutras called Candragarbha, Kshitig., Sumerug., and
Akasag., appear to be merely sections, not separate composi
tions, although this is not clear from the remarks of Nanjio
and Wassiljew.
The principal works in class 4 are two translations, one
fuller than the other, of the Hua-yen or Avatamsaka Sutra2,
still one of the most widely read among Buddhist works, and
at least sixteen of the other items are duplicate renderings of
1 Vajracchedika or | Chin Rang.
2 Winternitz (Gesch. Ind. Lit. n. i. p. 242) states on the authority of Takakusu
that this work is the same as the Ganclavyuha. See also Pelliot in J.A. 1914, 11.
pp. 118-21. The Gandavyuha is probably an extract of the Avatamsaka.
E. in. 1 g
284 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
parts of it. Class 5 consists of thirteen works dealing with
the death of the Buddha and his last discourses. The first
sutra, sometimes called the northern text, is imperfect and
was revised at Nanking in the form of the southern text1. There
are two other incomplete versions of the same text. To judge
from a specimen translated by Beal2 it is a collection of late
discourses influenced by Vishnuism and does not correspond
to the Mahaparinibbanasutta of the Pali Canon.
Class 6 consists of sutras which exist in several translations,
but still do not, like the works just mentioned, form small
libraries in themselves. It comprises, however, several books
highly esteemed and historically important, such as the
Saddharmapundarika (six translations), the Suvarnaprabhasa,
the Lalitavistara, the Lankavatara, and the Shorter Sukha-
vativyuha3, all extant in three translations. In it are also
included many short tracts, the originals of which are not
known. Some of them are Jatakas, but many4 deal with the
ritual of image worship or with spells. These characteristics are
still more prominent in the seventh class, consisting of sutras
which exist in a single translation only. The best known among
them are the Surangama and the Mahavairocana (Ta-jih-ching),
which is the chief text of the Shin-gon or Mantra School5.
The Lu-tsang or Vinaya-pitaka is divided into Mahayana
and Hinayana texts, neither very numerous. Many of the
Mahayana texts profess to be revelations by Maitreya and are
extracts of the Yogacaryabhumisastra6 or similar to it. For
practical purposes the most important is the Fan-wang-ching7
or net of Brahma. The Indian original of this work is not known,
but since the eighth century it has been accepted in China as
the standard manual for the monastic life8.
1 Nos.
2 Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, pp. 160 ff.
3 The longer Sukhavativyuha is placed in the Ratnakuta class.
4 The Sutra of Kuan-yin with the thousand hands and eyes is very popular
and used in most temples. Nanjio, No. 320.
• No. 399 Jf* $gl|| and 530 ^ [J $g .
6 Said to have been revealed to Asanga by Maitreya. No. 1170.
7 $fc$B$3?' No' 1087' Jt has notning to do with the Pali Sutra of the same
name. Digha, I.
8 See below for an account of it.
XLIV] CHINA 285
The Hinayana Vinaya comprises five very substantial
recensions of the whole code, besides extracts, compendiums,
and manuals. The five recensions are: (a) Shih-sung-lii in sixty-
five fasciculi, translated in A.D. 404. This is said to be a Vinaya
of the Sarvastivadins, but I-Ching1 expressly says that it does
not belong to the Mulasarvastivadin school, though not unlike
it. (b) The Vinaya of this latter translated by I-Ching who
brought it from India, (c) Shih-fen-lu-tsang in sixty fasciculi,
translated in 405 and said to represent the Dharmagupta
school, (d) The Mi-sha-so Wu-fen Lii or Vinaya of the Mahi-
6asakas, said to be similar to the Pali Vinaya, though not
identical with it2, (e) Mo-ko-seng-chi Lii or Mahasanghika
Vinaya brought from India by Fa-Hsien and translated 416 A.D.
It is noticeable that all five recensions are classed as Hinayanist,
although (b) is said to be the Vinaya used by the Tibetan Church.
Although Chinese Buddhists frequently speak of the five-fold
Vinaya3, this expression does not refer to these five texts, as
might be supposed, and I-Ching condemns it, saying that4 the
real number of divisions is four.
The Abhidharma-Pitaka or Lun-tsang is, like the Sutra
Pitaka, divided into Mahayanist and Hinayanist texts and
texts of both schools admitted into the Canon after 960 A.D.
The Mahayanist texts have no connection with the Pali Canon
and their Sanskrit titles do not contain the word Abhidharma1.
They are philosophical treatises ascribed to Asvaghosha,
Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu and others, including three
works supposed to have been revealed by Maitreya to Asanga5.
The principal of these is the Yogacarya-bhumisastra, a scripture
of capital importance for the Yogacarya school. It describes
the career of a Bodhisattva and hence parts of it are treated as
belonging to the Vinaya. Among other important works in
this section may be mentioned the Madhyamaka Sastra of
1 Record of Buddhist Practices, p. 20.
2 See Oldenberg, Vinaya, vol. i. pp. xxiv-xlvi.
8 See Watters, Yuan Chicang, I. p. 227. The five schools are given as Dharma
gupta, Mahis'asika, Sarvastivadin, Ka'syapiya and Mahasaughika. For the last
Vatsiputra or Sthavira is sometimes substituted.
4 Record of Buddhist Practices, p. 8.
6 The Chinese word lun occurs frequently in them, but though it is used to
translate Abhidharma, it is of much wider application and means discussion of
Sastra.
6 See Watters, Yuan Chwang, I, pp. 355 ff.
286 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Nagarjuna, the Mahay anasutralankara of Asanga, and the
Awakening of Faith ascribed to Asvaghosha1.
The Hinayana texts also show no correspondence with the
Pali Pitaka but are based on the Abhidharma works of the
Sarvastivadin school2. These are seven in number, namely the
Jnanaprasthanasastra of Katyayaniputra with six accessory
treatises or Padas3. The Mahavibhashasastra, or commentary
on the Jnanaprasthana, and the Abhidharmakosa4 are also in
this section.
The third division of the Abhidharma is of little importance
but contains two curious items: a manual of Buddhist ter
minology composed as late as 1272 by Pagspa for the use of
Khubilai's son and the Sankhyakarikabhashya, which is not
a Buddhist work but a compendium of Sankhya philosophy5.
The fourth division of the whole collection consists of
miscellaneous works, partly translated from Sanskrit and partly
composed in Chinese. Many of the Indian works appear from
their title not to differ much from the later Mahayana Sutras,
but it is rather surprising to find in this section four translations6
of the Dharmapada (or at least of some similar anthology) which
are thus placed outside the Sutra Pitaka. Among the works
professing to be translated from Sanskrit are a History of the
Patriarchs, the Buddhacarita of Asvaghosha, a work similar
to the Questions of King Milinda, Lives of Asvaghosha,
Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu and others and the Suhrillekha or
Friendly Epistle ascribed to Nagarjuna.
The Chinese works included in this Tripitaka consist of
nearly two hundred books, historical, critical, controversial and
homiletic, composed by one hundred and two authors. Excluding
late treatises on ceremonial and doctrine, the more interesting
may be classified as follows :
(a) Historical. — Besides general histories of Buddhism, there
1 Nos. 1179, 1190, 1249.
2 For a discussion of this literature see Takakusu on the Abhidharma Literature
of the Sarvastivadins, J. Pali Text Society, 1905, pp. 67 ff.
8 Nanjio, Cat. Nos. 1273, 1275, 1276, 1277, 1292, 1281, 1282, 1296, 1317. This
last work was not translated till the eleventh century.
4 Nanjio, Cat. Nos. 1263, 1267 and 1269.
5 See Takakusu's study of these translations in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 1 ff. and
pp. 978 ff.
6 Nanjio, Cat. Nos. 1321, 1353, 1365, 1439.
xuv] CHINA 287
are several collections of ecclesiastical biography. The first is
the Kao-seng-chuan1, or Memoirs of eminent Monks (not,
however, excluding laymen), giving the lives of about five
hundred worthies who lived between 67 and 519 A.D. The series
is continued in other works dealing with the T'ang and Sung
dynasties. For the Contemplative School there are further
supplements carrying the record on to the Yuan. There are also
several histories of the Chinese patriarchs. Of these the latest
and therefore most complete is the Fo-tsu-t'ung-chi2 composed
about 1270 by Chih P'an of the T'ien-T'ai school. The Ching-
te-ch'uan-teng-lu3 and other treatises give the succession of
patriarchs according to the Contemplative School. Among
historical works may be reckoned the travels of various pilgrims
who visited India.
(b) Critical. — There are thirteen catalogues of the Tripitaka
as. it existed at different periods. Several of them contain
biographical accounts of the translators and other notes. The
work called Chen-cheng-lun criticizes several false sutras and
names. There are also several encyclopaedic works containing
extracts from the Tripitaka, arranged according to subjects,
such as the Fa-yuan-chu-lin4 in 100 volumes; concordances of
numerical categories and a dictionary of Sanskrit terms,
Fan-i-ming-i-chi5, composed in 1151.
(c) The literature of several Chinese sects is well repre
sented. Thus there are more than sixty works belonging to
the T'ien T'ai school beginning with the San-ta-pu or three
great books attributed to the founder and ending with the
ecclesiastical history of Chih-p'an, written about 1270. The
Hua-yen school is represented by the writings of four patriarchs
and five monks: the Lli or Vinaya school by eight works at
tributed to its founder, and the Contemplative School by a
sutra ascribed to Hui-neng, the sixth patriarch, by works on
the history of the Patriarchs and by several collections of
sayings or short compositions.
No-1490-
- No. 1661. For more about the Patriarchs see
the next chapter.
3 !^ • No- 1524> written A-D- 1006-
G - N°- 164°-
288 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
(d) Controversial. — Under this heading may be mentioned
polemics against Taoism, including two collections of the con
troversies which took place between Buddhists and Taoists
from A.D. 71 till A.D. 730: replies to the attacks made against
Buddhism by Confucian scholars and refutations of the objec
tions raised by sceptics or heretics such as the Che-i-lun and
the Yiian-jen-lun, or Origin of man1. This latter is a well-known
text-book written by the fifth Patriarch of the Hua-yen school
and while criticizing Confucianism, Taoism, and the Hinayana,
treats them as imperfect rather than as wholly erroneous2. Still
more conciliatory is the Treatise on the three religions com
posed by Liu Mi of the Yuan dynasty3, which asserts that all
three deserve respect as teaching the practice of virtue. It
attacks, however, anti-Buddhist Confucianists such as Han-Yii
and Chu-Hsi.
The Chinese section contains three compositions attributed
to imperial personages of the Ming, viz., a collection of the
prefaces and laudatory verses written by the Emperor T'ai-
Tsung, the Shen-Seng-Chuan or memoirs of remarkable monks
with a preface by the Emperor Ch'eng-tsu, and a curious book
by his consort the Empress Jen-Hsiao, introducing a sutra which
Her Majesty states was miraculously revealed to her on New
Year's day, 1398 (see Nanjio, No. 1657).
Though the Hindus were careful students and guardians of
their sacred works, their temperament did not dispose them to
define and limit the scriptures. But, as I have mentioned above4,
there is some evidence that there was a loose Mahayanist canon
in India which was the origin of the arrangement found in the
Chinese Tripitaka, in so far as it (1) accepted Hinayanist as
well as Mahayanist works, and (2) included a great number of
relatively late sutras, arranged in classes such as Prajnaparamita
and Mahasannipata.
2
The Tripitaka analyzed by Nanjio, which contains works
assigned to dates ranging from 67 to 1622A.D., is merely the
. Nos- 1634 and 1594-
2 See for some account of it Masson-Oursel's article in J.A. 1915, i. pp. 229-354.
* See chap, xx on the Mahayanist canon in India.
XLIV] CHINA 289
best known survivor among several similar thesauri1. From
518 A. D. onwards twelve collections of sacred literature were
made by imperial order and many of these were published in
more than one edition. The validity of this Canon depends
entirely on imperial authority, but, though Emperors occasion
ally inserted the works of writers whom they esteemed2, it does
not appear that they aimed at anything but completeness nor
did they favour any school. The Buddhist Church, like every
other department of the Empire, received from them its share
of protection and supervision and its claims were sufficient to
induce the founder, or at least an early Sovereign, of every
important dynasty to publish under his patronage a revised
collection of the scriptures. The list of these collections is as
follows3 :
1. A.D. 518 in the time of Wu-Ti, founder of the Liang.
2. „ 533-4 Hsiao-Wu of the Northern Wei.
Wan-ti, founder of the Sui.
4.
5. „ 605-16 Yang-Ti of the Sui.
6. „ 695 the Empress Wu of the T'ang.
7. „ 730 Hsiian-Tsung of the T'ang.
8. „ 971 T'ai-Tsu, founder of the Sung.
9. „ 1285-7 Khubilai Khan, founder of the Yuan.
10. „ 1368-98 Hung-Wu, founder of the Ming.
11. „ 1403-24 Yung-Lo of the Ming.
12. „ 1735-7 Yung-Chingand Ch'ien-Lung of the Ch'ing4.
Of these collections, the first seven were in MS. only: the
last five were printed. The last three appear to be substantially
the same. The tenth and eleventh collections are known as
1 It is described at the beginning as Ta Ming San Tsang, but strictly speaking
it must be No. 12 of the Hat, as it contains a work said to have been written about
1622 A.D. (p. 468).
2 Thus the Emperor Jen Tsung ordered the works of Ch'i Sung ^2pJ to be
admitted to the Canton in 1062.
8 Taken from Nanjio's Catalogue, p. xxvii.
4 Ch'ien-Lung is said to have printed the Tripitaka in four languages, Chinese,
Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu, the whole collection filling 1392 vols. See Mollendorf
in China Branch, J.A.S. xxiv. 1890, p. 28.
290 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
southern and northern1, because they were printed at Nanking
and Peking respectively. They differ only in the number of
Chinese works admitted and similarly the twelfth collection
is merely a revision of the tenth with the addition of fifty -four
Chinese works.
As mentioned, the Tripitaka contains thirteen catalogues of
the Buddhist scriptures as known at different dates2. Of these the
most important are (a) the earliest published between 506 and
512 A.D., (6) three published under the T'ang dynasty and known
as Nei-tien-lu, T'u-chi (both about 664 A.D.), and K'ai-yiian-lu
(about 720 A.D.), (c) Chih-Yiian-lu or catalogue of Yuan dynasty,
about 1285, which, besides enumerating the Chinese titles,
transliterates the Sanskrit titles and states whether the Indian
works translated are also translated into Tibetan, (d) The
catalogue of the first Ming collection.
The later collections contain new material and differ from
the earlier by natural accretion, for a great number of transla
tions were produced under the T'ang and Sung. Thus the
seventh catalogue (695 A.D.) records that 859 new works were
admitted to the Canon. But this expansion was accompanied
by a critical and sifting process, so that whereas the first col
lection contained 2213 works, the Ming edition contains only
1622. This compression means not that works of importance
wrere rejected as heretical or apocryphal, for, as we have seen,
the Tripitaka is most catholic, but that whereas the earlier
collections admitted multitudinous extracts or partial trans
lations of Indian works, many of these were discarded when
complete versions had been made.
Nanjio considers that of the 2213 works contained in the
first collection only 276 are extant. Although the catalogues
are preserved, all the earlier collections are lost: copies of the
1 But according to another statement the southern recension was not the
imperial collection begun in 1368 but a private edition now lost. See Nanjio,
Cat. p. xxiii.
2 See for the complete list Nanjio, Cat. p. xxvii. Those named above are
7Ki Nos- 1483> 1485> 1487> and (6) 7C
^? No. 1612. For the date of the first see Maspero in B.E.F.E.O. 1910, p. 114.
There was a still earlier catalogue composed by Tao-an in 374 of which only
fragments have been preserved. See Pelliot in T'oung Poo, xix. 1920, p. 258.
xuv] CHINA 291
eighth and ninth were preserved in the Z6-jo-ji Library of Tokyo1
and Chinese and Japanese editions of the tenth, eleventh and
twelfth are current. So far as one can judge, when the eighth
catalogue, or K'ai-yuan-lu, was composed (between 713 and
741), the older and major part of the Canon had been definitively
fixed and the later collections merely add the translations made
by Amogha, and by writers of the Sung and Yiian dynasties.
The editions of the Chinese Tripitaka must be distinguished
from the collections, for by editions are meant the forms in
which each collection was published, the text being or purporting
to be the same in all the editions of each collection. It is said2
that under the Sung and Yiian twenty different editions were
produced. These earlier issues were printed on long folding sheets
and a nun called Fa-chen3 is said to have first published an
edition in the shape of ordinary Chinese books. In 1586 a monk
named Mi-Tsang4 imitated this procedure and his edition was
widely used. About a century later a Japanese priest known as
Tetsu-yen5 reproduced it and his publication, which is not
uncommon in Japan, is usually called the 0-baku edition.
There are two modern Japanese editions: (a) that of Tokyo,
begun in 1880, based on a Korean edition6 with various readings
taken from other Chinese editions. (6) That of Kyoto, 1905,
which is a reprint of the Ming collection7. A Chinese edition
has been published at Shanghai (1913) at the expense of
Mrs Hardoon, a Chinese lady well known as a munificent patron
of the faith, and I believe another at Nanking, but I do not
know if it is complete or not8.
1 For the Korean copy now in Japan, see Courant, Bibliographic cordenne,
vol. in. pp. 215-19.
2 See Nanjio, Cat. p. xxii.
• %&- • mm-
6 Also called Do-ko.
8 The earlier collections of the Tripitaka seem to have been known in Korea
and about 1000 A.D. the king procured from China a copy of the Imperial Edition,
presumably the eighth collection (971 A.D.)- He then ordered a commission of
scholars to revise the text and publish an edition of his own. The copy of this edition,
on which the recent Tokyo edition was founded, was brought to Japan in the
Bun-mei period 1469-1486.
7 A supplement to the Tripitaka containing non-canonical works in 750 volumes
(Dai Nippon Zoku-Zokyo) was published in 1911.
8 The Peking Tripitaka catalogued by Forke appears to be a set of 1223 works
represented by copies taken from four editions published in 1578, 1592, 1598 and
1735 A.D., all of which are editions of the collections numbered 11 and 12 above.
292 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
The translations contained in the Chinese Tripitaka belong
to several periods1. In the earliest, which extends to the middle
of the fourth century, the works produced were chiefly renderings
of detached sutras2. Few treatises classified as Vinaya or
Abhidharma were translated and those few are mostly extracts
or compilations. The sutras belong to both the Hina and
Mahayana. The earliest extant translation or rather compilation,
the Sutra of Forty-two sections, belongs to the former school,
and so do the majority of the translations made by An-Shih-Kao
(148-170 A.D.), but from the second century onwards the
Prajnaparamita and Amitabha Sutras make their appearance3.
Many of the translations made in this period are described as
incomplete or incorrect and the fact that most of them were
superseded or supplemented by later versions shows that the
Chinese recognized their provisional character. Future re
search will probably show that many of them are paraphrases
or compendiums rather than translations in our sense.
The next period, roughly speaking 375-745 A.D., was extra
ordinarily prolific in extensive and authoritative translations.
The translators now attack not detached chapters or discourses
but the great monuments of Indian Buddhist literature. Though
it is not easy to make any chronological bisection in this period,
there is a clear difference in the work done at the beginning and
at the end of it. From the end of the fourth century onwards
a desire to have complete translations of the great canonical
works is apparent. Between 385 and 445 A.D. were translated
the four Agamas, analogous to the Nikayas of the Pali Canon,
three great collections of the Vinaya, and the principal scrip
tures of the Abhidharma according to the Sarvastivadin school.
For the Mahayana were translated the great sutras known as
Avatamsaka, Lankavatara, and many others, as well as works
1 For two interesting lives of translators see the T'oung Pao, 1909, p. 199, and
1905, p. 332, where will be found the biographies of Seng Hui, a Sogdian who died
in 280 and Jinagupta a native of Gandhara (528-605).
2 But between 266 and 313 Dharmaraksha translated the Saddharmapundarika
(including the additional chapters 21-26) and the Lalitavistara. His translation of
the Prajnaparamita is incomplete.
3 In the translations of Lokakshi 147-186, Chih-Ch'ien 223-243, Dharmaraksha
266-313.
XLIV] CHINA 293
ascribed to Asvaghosha and Nagarjuna. After 645 A.D. a further
development of the critical spirit is perceptible, especially in
the labours of Hsiian Chuang and I-Ching. They attempt to
give the religious public not only complete works in place of
extracts and compendiums, but also to select the most authori
tative texts among the many current in India. Thus, though
many translations had appeared under the name of Prajna-
paramita, Hsiian Chuang filled 600 fasciculi with a new rendering
of the gigantic treatise. I-Ching supplemented the already
bulky library of Vinaya works with versions of the Mulasar-
vastivadin recension and many auxiliary texts.
Amogha (Pu-K'ung) whose literary labours extended from
746 to 774 A.D. is a convenient figure to mark the beginning of
the next and last period, although some of its characteristics
appear a little earlier. They are that no more translations are
made from the great Buddhist classics — partly no doubt
because they had all been translated already, well or ill — but
that renderings of works described as Dharani or Tantra pullu
late and multiply. Though this literature deserves such epithets
as decadent and superstitious, yet it would appear that Indian
Tantras of the worst class were not palatable to the Chinese.
The Chinese Tripitaka is of great importance for the literary
history of Buddhism, but the material which it offers for in
vestigation is superabundant and the work yet done is small.
We are confronted by such questions as, can we accept the dates
assigned to the translators, can we assume that, if the Chinese
translations or transliterations correspond with Indian titles,
the works are the same, and if the works are professedly the
same, can we assume that the Chinese text is a correct present
ment of the Indian original?
The dates assigned to the translators offer little ground for
scepticism. The exactitude of the Chinese in such matters is
well attested, and there is a general agreement between several
authorities such as the Catalogues of the Tripitaka, the memoirs
known as Kao-Seng Chuan with their continuations, and the
chapter on Buddhist books in the Sui annals. There are no signs
294 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
of a desire to claim improbable accuracy or improbable antiquity.
Many works are said to be by unknown translators, doubtful
authorship is frankly discussed, and the movement of literature
and thought indicated is what we should expect. We have
first fragmentary and incomplete translations belonging to both
the Maha and Hinayana : then a series of more complete trans
lations beginning about the fifth century in which the great
Hinayana texts are conspicuous: then a further series of im
proved translations in which the Hinayana falls into the back
ground and the works of Asanga and Vasubandhu come to the
front. This evidently reflects the condition of Buddhist India
about 500-650 A.D., just as the translations of the eighth century
reflect its later and tan trie phase.
But can Chinese texts be accepted as reasonably faithful
reproductions of the Indian originals whose names they bear,
and some of which have been lost? This question is really
double ; firstly, did the translators reproduce with fair accuracy
the Indian text before them, and secondly, since Indian texts
often exist in several recensions, can we assume that the work
which the translators knew under a certain Sanskrit name is the
work known to us by that name ? In reply it must be said that
most Chinese translators fall short of our standards of accuracy.
In early times when grammars and dictionaries were unknown
the scholarly rendering of foreign books was a difficult business,
for professional interpreters would usually be incapable of
understanding a philosophic treatise. The method often followed
was that an Indian explained the text to a literary Chinese, who
recast the explanation in his own language. The many transla
tions of the more important texts and the frequent description
of the earlier ones as imperfect indicate a feeling that the results
achieved were not satisfactory. Several so-called translators,
especially Kumarajiva, gave abstracts of the Indian texts1.
Others, like Dharmaraksha, who made a Chinese version of
Asvaghosha's Buddhacarita, so amplified and transposed the
1 But his translation of the Lotus won admiration for its literary style. See
Anesaki Nichircn, p. 17. Wieger (Croyances, p. 367) says that the works of An-
shih-kao illustrate the various methods of translation: absolutely literal renderings
which have hardly any meaning in Chinese: word for word translations to which
is added a paraphrase of each sentence in Chinese idiom : and elegant renderings by
a native in which the original text obviously suffers.
XLIV] CHINA 295
original that the result can hardly be called a translation1.
Others combined different texts in one. Thus the work called
Ta-o-mi-to-ching2 consists of extracts taken from four previous
translations of the Sukhavativyuha and rearranged by the
author under the inspiration of Avalokita to whom, as he tells us,
he was wont to pray during the execution of his task. Others
again, like Dhannagupta, anticipated a method afterwards used
in Tibet, and gave a word for word rendering of the Sanskrit
which is hardly intelligible to an educated Chinese. The later
versions, e.g. those of Hsiian Chuang, are more accurate, but
still a Chinese rendering of a lost Indian document cannot be
accepted as a faithful representation of the original without a
critical examination3.
Often, however, the translator, whatever his weaknesses
may have been, had before him a text differing in bulk and
arrangement from the Pali and Sanskrit texts which we possess.
Thus, there are four Chinese translations of works bearing some
relation to the Dhammapada of the Pali Canon. All of these
describe the original text as the compilation of Dharmatrata,
to whom is also ascribed the compilation of the Tibetan Udana-
varga4. His name is not mentioned in connection with the Pali
text, yet two of the Chinese translations are closely related to
that text. The Fa-chii-ching5 is a collection of verses translated
in 224 A.D. and said to correspond with the Pali except that it
has nine additional chapters and some additional stanzas. The
Fa-chu-p'i-yii-ching6 represents another edition of the same
1 Yet it must have been intended as such. The title expressly describes the work
as composed by the Bodhisattva Ma-Ming (AsVaghosha) and translated by Dhar-
maraksha. Though his idea of a translation was at best an amplified metrical
paraphrase, yet he coincides verbally with the original so often that his work can
hardly be described as an independent poem inspired by it.
•;*WflilZfc&- N°-203-
8 See Sukhavativyuha, ed. Max Miiller and Bunyiu Nanjio, Oxford, 1883.
In the preface, pp. vii-ix, is a detailed comparison of several translations and in an
appendix, pp. 79 ff., a rendering of Sanghavarman's Chinese version of verses which
occur in the work. Chinese critics say that Tao-an in the third century was the first
to introduce a sound style of translation. He made no translations himself which
have survived but was a scholar and commentator who influenced others.
4 This is an anthology (edited by Beckh, 1911: translated by Rockhill, 1892) in
which 300 verses are similar to the Pali Dhammapada.
No- 1365« 6 K- No- 1353-
296 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
verses, illustrated by a collection of parables. It was translated
between 290 and 306. The Ch'u-yao-ching1, translated in 399,
is a similar collection of verses and parables, but founded on
another Indian work of much greater length. A revised trans
lation containing only the verses was made between 980 and
100 12. They are said to be the same as the Tibetan Udana, and
the characteristics of this book, going back apparently to a
Sanskrit original, are that it is divided into thirty-three chapters,
and that though it contains about 300 verses found in Pali,
yet it is not merely the Pah* text plus additions, but an anthology
arranged on a different principle and only partly identical in
substance3.
There can be little doubt that the Pali Dhammapada is one
among several collections of verses, with or without an ex
planatory commentary of stories. In all these collections there
was much common matter, both prose and verse, but some were
longer, some shorter, some were in Pali and some in Sanskrit.
Whereas the Chinese Dhammapada is longer than the Indian
texts, the Chinese version of Milinda's Questions4 is much
shorter and omits books iv-vii. It was made between 317 and
420 A.D. and the inference is that the original Indian text re
ceived later additions.
A more important problem is this: what is the relation to
the Pali Canon of the Chinese texts bearing titles corresponding
to Dirgha, Madhyama, Samyukta and Ekottara? These collec
tions of sutras do not call themselves Nikaya but A-han or
Agama: the titles are translated as Ch'ang (long), Chung
(medium), Tsa (miscellaneous) and Tseng-i, representing Ekot
tara rather than Anguttara5. There is hence prima facie reason
S. No. 1321.
Fa-chi-yao-sung-ching, No. 1439.
3 There seem to be at least two other collections. Firstly a Prakrit anthology
of which Dutreuil de Rhins discovered a fragmentary MS. in Khotan and secondly
a much amplified collection preserved in the Korean Tripitaka and reprinted in the
Tokyo edition (xxiv.'g). The relation of these to the other recensions is not clear.
4 Nanjio, Cat. 1358. See Pelliot, J.A. 1914, n. p. 379.
6 -J§f Ffr . Sfl . ^8* *»* For the relations of the Chinese translations to
J-V ' I ' •O'P- " W > *•.
the Pali Tripitaka, and to a Sanskrit Canon now preserved only in a fragmentary
slate, see inter alia, Nanjio, Cat. pp. 127 ff., especially Nos. 542, 543, 545. Anesaki,
J.R.A.S. 1901, p. 895; id. "On some problems of the textual history of the Buddhist
scriptures," in Trans. A. S. Japan, 1908, p. 81, and more especially his longer article
XLIV] CHINA 297
to suppose that these works represent not the Pali Canon, but
a somewhat similar Sanskrit collection. That one or many
Sanskrit works may have coexisted with a somewhat similar
Pali work is clearly shown by the Vinaya texts, for here we have
the Pali Canon and Chinese translations of five Sanskrit versions,
belonging to different schools, but apparently covering the
same ground and partly identical. For the Sutra Pitaka no such
body of evidence is forthcoming, but the Sanskrit fragments
of the Samyuktagama found near Turfan contain parts of six
sutras which are arranged in the same order as in the Chinese
translation and are apparently the original from which it was
made. It is noticeable that three of the four great Agamas were
translated by monks who came from Tukhara or Kabul.
Gunabhadra, however, the translator of the Samyuktagama,
came from Central India and the text which he translated was
brought from Ceylon by Fa-Hsien. It apparently belonged to
the Abhayagiri monastery and not to the Mahavihara. Nanjio1,
however, states that about half of it is repeated in the Chinese
versions of the Madhyama and Ekottara Agamas. It is also
certain that though the Chinese Agamas and Pali Nikayas
contain much common matter, it is differently distributed2.
There was in India a copious collection of sutras, existing
primarily as oral tradition and varying in diction and arrange
ment, but codified from time to time in a written form. One
of such codifications is represented by the Pali Canon, at least
one other by the Sanskrit text which was rendered into Chinese.
With rare exceptions the Chinese translations were from the
Sanskrit3. The Sanskrit codification of the sutra literature, while
entitled, "The Four Buddhist Agamas in Chinese" in the same year of the Trans.',
id. "Traces of Pali Texts in a Mahayana Treatise," Museon, 1905. S. Levi, Le
Samyuktagama Sanskrit, T'oung Poo, 1904, p. 297.
1 No. 544.
2 Thus seventy sutras of the Pali Anguttara are found in the Chinese Madhyama
and some of them are repeated in the Chinese Ekottara. The Pali Majjhima con
tains 125 sutras, the Chinese Madhyamagama 222, of which 98 are common to both.
Also twenty-two Pali Majjhima dialogues are found in the Chinese Ekottara and
Samyukta, seventy Chinese Madhyama dialogues in Pali Anguttara, nine in Digha,
seven in Samyutta and five in Khuddaka. Anesaki, Some Problems of the textual
history of the Buddhist Scriptures. See also Anesaki in Miise'on, 1905, pp. 23 ff. on
the Samyutta Nikaya.
3 Anesaki, "Traces of Pali Texts," Museon, 1905, shows that the Indian author
of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sastra may have known Pali texts, but the only certain
translation from the Pali appears to be Nanjio, No. 1125, which is a translation of
298 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
differing from the Pali in language and arrangement, is identical
in doctrine and almost identical in substance. It is clearly the
product of the same or similar schools, but is it earlier or later
than the Pali or contemporary with it? The Chinese translations
merely fix the latest possible date. A portion of the Samyukta-
gama (Nanjio, No. 547) was translated by an unknown author
between 220 and 280. This is probably an extract from the
complete work which was translated about 440, but it would be
difficult to prove that the Indian original was not augmented or
rearranged between these dates. The earliest translation of a
complete Agama is that of the Ekottaragama, 384 A.D. But
the evidence of inscriptions1 shows that works known as Nikayas
existed in the third century B.C. The Sanskrit of the Agamas,
so far as it is known from the fragments found in Central Asia,
does not suggest that they belong to this epoch, but is compatible
with the theory that they date from the time of Kanishka of
which if we know little, we can at least say that it produced
much Buddhist Sanskrit literature. M. Sylvain Levi has sug
gested that the later appearance of the complete Vinaya in
Chinese is due to the late compilation of the Sanskrit original2.
It seems to me that other explanations are possible. The early
translators were clearly shy of extensive works and until there
was a considerable body of Chinese monks, to what public would
these theological libraries appeal? Still, if any indication were
forthcoming from India or Central Asia that the Sanskrit
Agamas were arranged or rearranged in the early centuries of
our era, the late date of the Chinese translations would certainly
support it. But I am inclined to think that the Nikayas were
rewritten in Sanskrit about the beginning of our era, when it was
felt that works claiming a certain position ought to be composed
in what had become the general literary language of India3.
the Introduction to Buddhaghosa's Samanta-pasadika or commentary on the Vinaya.
See Takakusu in J.R.A.S. 1896, p. 415. Nanjio's restoration of the title as Sudarsana
appears to be incorrect.
1 See Epigraphia Indica, vol. n. p. 93.
2 In support of this it may be mentioned that Fa-Hsien says that at the time of
his visit to India the Vinaya of the Sarvastivadins was preserved orally and not
committed to writing.
3 The idea that an important book ought to be in Sanskrit or deserves to be
turned into Sanskrit is not dead in India. See Grierson, J.R.A.S. 1913, p. 133, who
in discussing a Sanskrit version of the Ramayana of Tulsi Das mentions that trans
lations of vernacular works into Sanskrit are not uncommon.
XLIV] CHINA 299
Perhaps those who wrote them in Sanskrit were hardly con
scious of making a translation in our sense, but simply wished
to publish them in the best literary form.
It seems probable that the Hinayanist portion of the Chinese
Tripitaka is in the main a translation of the Canon of the Sar-
vastivadins which must have consisted of :
(1) Four Agamas or Nikayas only, for the Dhammapada
is placed outside the Sutta Pitaka.
(2) A voluminous Vinaya covering the same ground as the
Pali recension but more copious in legend and anecdote.
(3) An Abhidharma entirely different from the Pali works
bearing this name.
It might seem to follow from this that the whole Pali
Abhidharma and some important works such as the Thera-
Therigatha were unknown to the Hinayanists of Central Asia
and Northern India in the early centuries of our era. But caution
is necessary in drawing such inferences, for until recently it
might have been said that the Sutta Nipata also was unknown,
whereas fragments of it in a Sanskrit version have now been
discovered in Eastern Turkestan1. The Chinese editors draw
a clear distinction between Hinayanist and Mahayanist scrip
tures. They exclude from the latter works analogous to the
Pali Nikayas and Vinaya, and also the Abhidharma of the
Sarvastivadins. But the labours of Hsiian Chuang and I-Ching
show that this does not imply the rejection of all these works
by Mahay anists.
Buddhist literary activity has an interesting side aspect,
namely the expedients used to transliterate Indian words, which
1 J.R.A.S. 1916, p. 709. Also, the division into five Nikayas is ancient. See
Biihler in Epig. Indica, n. p. 93. Anesaki says (Trans. A. S. Japan, 1908, p. 9) that
Nanjio, No. 714, Pen Shih is the Itivuttakam, which could not have been guessed
from Nanjio's entry. Portions of the works composing the fifth Nikaya (e.g. the
Sutta Nipata) occur in the Chinese Tripitaka in the other Nikayas. For mentions
of the- fifth Nikaya in Chinese, see J.A. 1916, n. pp. 32-33, where it is said to be
called Tsa-Tsang. This is also the designation of the last section of the Tripitaka,
Nanjio, Nos. 1321 to 1662, and as this section contains the Dharmapada, it might be
supposed to be an enormously distended version of the Kshudraka Nikaya. But
this can hardly be the case, for this Tsa-Tsang is placed as if it was considered as a
fourth Pitaka rather than as a fifth Nikaya.
B. ra. 20
300 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
almost provided the Chinese with an alphabet. To some extent
Indian names, particularly proper names possessing an obvious
meaning, are translated. Thus Asoka becomes Wu-yu, without
sorrow: Asvaghosha, Ma-ming or horse-voice, and Udyana
simply Yuan or park1. But many proper names did not lend
themselves to such renderings and it was a delicate business
to translate theological terms like Nirvana and Samadhi. The
Buddhists did not perhaps invent the idea of using the Chinese
characters so as to spell with moderate precision2, but they had
greater need of this procedure than other writers and they used
it extensively3 and with such variety of detail that though they
invented some fifteen different syllabaries, none of them ob
tained general acceptance and Julien4 enumerates 3000 Chinese
characters used to represent the sounds indicated by 47
Indian letters. Still, they gave currency5 to the system known
as fan-ch'ieh which renders a syllable phonetically by two
characters, the final of the first and the initial of the second not
being pronounced. Thus, in order to indicate the sound Chung,
a Chinese dictionary will use the two characters chu yung, which
are to be read together as Ch ung.
The transcriptions of Indian words vary in exactitude and
the later are naturally better. Hsiian Chuang was a notable
reformer and probably after his time Indian words were rendered
in Chinese characters as accurately as Chinese words are now
transcribed in Latin letters. It is true that modern pronuncia
tion makes such renderings as Fo seem a strange distortion of
the original. But it is an abbreviation of Fo-t'o and these
syllables were probably once pronounced something like Vut-
tha6. Similarly Wen-shu-shih-li7 seems a parody of Manjusri.
2 See Walters, Essays on the Chinese Language, pp. 36, 51, and, for the whole
subject of transcription, Stanislas Julien, Methode pour dechiffrer et transcrire les
rioms Sanscrits qui se rencontrent dans les livres chinois.
3 Entire Sanskrit compositions were sometimes transcribed in Chinese characters.
See Kien Ch'ui Fan Tsan, Bibl Budd. xv. and Max Miiller, Buddhist Texts from Japan,
in. pp. 35-46.
4 L.c. pp. 83-232.
5 See inter alia the Preface to K'ang Hsi's Dictionary. The fan-ch'ieh
system is used in the well-known dictionary called Yii-Pien composed 543 A.D.
6 Even in modern Cantonese Fo is pronounced as Fat.
XLIV] CHINA 301
But the evidence of modern dialects shows that the first two
syllables may have been pronounced as Man-ju. The pupil was
probably taught to eliminate the obscure vowel of shih, and
li was taken as the nearest equivalent of rit just as European
authors write chih and tzu without pretending that they are
more than conventional signs for Chinese sounds unknown to
our languages. It was certainly possible to transcribe not only
names but Sanskrit prayers and formulae in Chinese characters,
and though many writers sneer at the gibberish chaunted by
Buddhist priests yet I doubt if this ecclesiastical pronunciation,
which has changed with that of the spoken language, is further
removed from its original than the Latin of Oxford from the
speech of Augustus.
Sanskrit learning flourished in China for a considerable
period. In the time of the T'ang, the clergy numbered many
serious students of Indian literature and the glossaries included
in the Tripitaka show that they studied the original texts. Under
the Sung dynasty (A.D. 1151) was compiled another dictionary
of religious terms1 and the study of Sanskrit was encouraged
under the Yuan. But the ecclesiastics of the Ming produced no
new translations and apparently abandoned the study of the
original texts which was no longer kept alive by the arrival of
learned men from India. It has been stated that Sanskrit
manuscripts are still preserved in Chinese monasteries, but no
details respecting such works are known to me. The statement
is not improbable in itself2 as is shown by the Library which
Stein discovered at Tun-huang and by the Japanese palm-leaf
manuscripts which came originally from China. A few copies
of Sanskrit sutras printed in China in the Lanja variety of the
Devanagari alphabet have been brought to Europe3. Max Miiller
published a facsimile of part of the Vajracchedika obtained at
Peking and printed in Sanskrit from wooden blocks. The place
of production is unknown, but the characters are similar to
those used for printing Sanskrit in Tibet, as may be seen from
1 Nanjio, Cat. No. 1640.
3 History repeats itself. I have seen many modern Burmese and Sinhalese
MSS. in Chinese monasteries.
3 Buddhist Texts from Japan, ed. Max Miiller in Anecdota Oxoniensia, Aryan
Series, I, n and in. For the Lanja printed text see the last facsimile in I, also m.
p. 34 and Bibl. Budd. xiv (Kuan-si-im Pusar), pp. vi, vii. Another copy of this
Lanja printed text was bought in Kyoto, 1920.
302 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH. XLIV
another facsimile (No. 3) in the same work. Placards and
pamphlets containing short invocations in Sanskrit and Tibetan
are common in Chinese monasteries, particularly where there is
any Lamaistic influence, but they do not imply that the monks
who use them have any literary acquaintance with those
languages.
CHAPTEE XLV
CHINA (continued)
SCHOOLS1 OF CHINESE BUDDHISM
THE Schools (Tsung) of Chinese Buddhism are an intricate
subject of little practical importance, for observers agree that
at the present day all salient differences of doctrine and practice
have been obliterated, although the older monasteries may
present variations in details and honour their own line of
teachers. A particular Bodhisattva may be singled out for
reverence in one locality or some religious observance may be
specially enjoined, but there is little aggressiveness or self
assertion among the sects, even if they are conscious of having
a definite name : they each tolerate the deities, rites and books
of all and pay attention to as many items as leisure and inertia
permit. There is no clear distinction between Mahayana and
Hinayana.
The main division is of course into Lamaism on one side and
all remaining sects on the other. Apart from this we find a
record of ten schools which deserve notice for various reasons.
Some, though obscure in modern China, have flourished after
transportation to Japan: some, such as the T'ien-t'ai, are a
memorial of a brilliant epoch : some represent doctrines which,
if not now held by separate bodies, at least indicate different
tendencies, such as magical ceremonies, mystical contemplation,
or faith in Amitabha.
1 ~r.. See especially Hackmann, "Die Schulen des chinesischen Buddhismus "
(in the Mitth. Seminars fur Orientalische Sprachen, Berlin, 1911), which contains the
text and translation of an Essay by a modern Chinese Buddhist, Yang Wen Hui.
Such a review of Chinese sects from the contemporary Buddhist point of view has
great value, but it does not seem to me that Mr Yang explains clearly the dogmatic
tenets of each sect, the obvious inference being that such tenets are of little
practical importance. Chinese monasteries often seem to combine several schools.
Thus the Tz'u-Fu-Ssu monastery near Peking professes to belong both to the Lin-
Chi and Pure Land schools and its teachers expound the Diamond-cutter, Lotus
and Shou-Leng-Ching. So also in India. See Rhys Davids in article Sects
Buddhist, E.R.E. Hackmann gives a list of authorities. Edkins, Chinese Buddhism
(chaps, vii and vin), may still be consulted, though the account is far from clear.
304 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
The more important schools were comparatively late, for
they date from the sixth and seventh centuries. For two or
three hundred years the Buddhists of China were a colony of
strangers, mainly occupied in making translations. By the
fifth century the extent and diversity of Indian literature be
came apparent and Fa-Hsien went to India to ascertain which
was the most correct Vinaya and to obtain copies of it. Theology
was now sufficiently developed to give rise to two schools both
Indian in origin and merely transported to China, known as
Ch'eng-shih-tsung and San-lun-tsung1.
The first is considered as Hinayanist and equivalent to the
Sautrantikas2. In the seventh century it passed over to Japan
where it is known as Ji-jitsu-shu, but neither there nor in China
had it much importance. The San-lun-tsung recognizes as three
authorities (from which it takes its name) the Madhyamika-
sastra and Dvadasanikayasastra of Nagarjuna with the
Satasastra of his pupil Deva. It is simply the school of these
two doctors and represents the extreme of Mahay anism. It had
some importance in Japan, where it was called San-Ron-
Shu.
The arrival of Bodhidharma at Canton in 520 (or 526) was
a great event for the history of Buddhist dogma, although his
special doctrines did not become popular until much later. He
introduced the contemplative school and also the institution of
the Patriarchate, which for a time had some importance. He
wrote no books himself, but taught that true knowledge is
gained in meditation by intuition3 and communicated by
transference of thought. The best account of his teaching is
contained in the Chinese treatise which reports the sermon
preached by him before the Emperor Wu-Ti in 5204. The chief
thesis of this disQOurse is that the only true reality is the Buddha
2 It based itself on the Satyasiddhisastra of Harivarman, Nanjio, Cat.
1274.
8 This meditation however is of a special sort. The six Paramitas are, Dana,
Sila, Kshanti, Virya, Dhyana and Prajna. The meditation of Bodhidharma is not
the Dhyana of this list, but meditation on Prajna, the highest of the Paramitas.
See Hackmann's Chinese text, p. 249.
4 Ta-mo-hsiie-mai-lun, analyzed by Wieger in his Histoire des Croyances religieuses
en Chine, pp. 520 ff. I could wish for more information about this work, but have
not been able to find the original.
XLV] CHINA 305
nature1 in the heart of every man. Prayer, asceticism and good
works are vain. All that man need do is to turn his gaze inward
and see the Buddha in his own heart. This vision, which gives
light and deliverance, comes in a moment. It is a simple, natural
act like swallowing or dreaming which cannot be taught or
learnt, for it is not something imparted but an experience of
the soul, and teaching can only prepare the way for it. Some
are impeded by their karma and are physically incapable of
the vision, whatever their merits or piety may be, but for those
to whom it comes it is inevitable and convincing.
We have only to substitute dtman for Buddha or Buddha
nature to see how closely this teaching resembles certain
passages in the Upanishads, and the resemblance is particularly
strong in such statements as that the Buddha nature reveals
itself in dreams, or that it is so great that it embraces the
universe and so small that the point of a needle cannot prick
it. The doctrine of Maya is clearly indicated, even if the word
was not used in the original, for it is expressly said that all
phenomena are unreal. Thus the teaching of Bodhidharma is
an anticipation of Ankara's monism, but it is formulated in
consistently Buddhist language and is in harmony with the
views of the Madhyamika school and of the Diamond-cutter.
This Chinese sermon confirms other evidence which indicates
that the ideas of the Advaita philosophy, though Brahmanic
in their origin and severely condemned by Gotama himself,
were elaborated in Buddhist circles before they were approved
by orthodox Hindus.
Bodhidharma's teaching was Indian but it harmonized
marvellously with Taoism and Chinese Buddhists studied
Taoist books2. A current of Chinese thought which was old
and strong, if not the main stream, bade man abstain from
action and look for peace and light within. It was, I think, the
junction of this native tributary with the river of inflowing
Buddhism which gave the Contemplative School its importance.
It lost that importance because it abandoned its special doctrines
1 Also called Fa-shen or dharmakaya in the discourse. Bodhidharma said that
he preached the seal of the heart (hsinyin). This probably corresponds to some Sanskrit
expression, but I have not found the Indian equivalent.
2 I-Ching, in his Memoirs of Eminent Monks, mentions three pilgrims as having
studied the works of Chuang-tzu and his own style shows that he was well-read in
this author.
306 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
and adopted the usages of other schools. When Taoism flourished
under the Sung Emperors it was also flourishing and influenced
art as well as thought, but it probably decayed under the Yuan
dynasty which favoured religion of a different stamp. It is
remarkable that Bodhidharma appears to be unknown to both
Indian and Tibetan1 writers but his teaching has imparted a
special tone and character to a section (though not the whole)
of Far Eastern Buddhism. It is called in Chinese Tsung-men
or Ch'an-tsung, but this word Ch'an2 is perhaps better known
to Europe in its Japanese form Zen.
Bodhidharma is also accounted the twenty -eighth Patriarch,
a title which represents the Chinese Tsu Shih3 rather than any
Indian designation, for though in Pali literature we hear of the
succession of teachers4, it is not clear that any of them enjoyed
a style or position such as is implied in the word Patriarch.
Hindus have always attached importance to spiritual lineage
and every school has a list of teachers who have transmitted
its special lore, but the sense of hierarchy is so weak that it is
misleading to describe these personages as Popes, Patriarchs or
Bishops, and apart from the personal respect which the talents
of individuals may have won, it does not appear that there was
any succession of teachers who could be correctly termed heads
of the Church. Even in China such a title is of dubious accuracy
for whatever position Bodhidharma and his successors may
have claimed for themselves, they were not generally accepted
as being more than the heads of a school and other schools also
gave their chief teachers the title of Tsu-shih. From time to
time the Emperor appointed overseers of religion with the title
of Kuo-shih5, instructor of the nation, but these were officials
appointed by the Crown, not prelates consecrated by the Church.
Twenty-eight Patriarchs are supposed to have flourished
between the death of the Buddha and the arrival of Bodhidharma
in China. The Chinese lists6 do not in the earlier part agree with
1 He is not mentioned by Taranatha.
1 f$. * jffiffifi.
4 Acariyaparampara. There is a list of such teachers in Mahavamsa, v. 95 ff.,
Dipavamsa, iv. 27 ff. and v. 69.
6 The succession of Patriarchs is the subject of several works comprised in the
Chinese Tripitaka. Of these the Fu-fa-tsang-yin-yiian-ching (Nanjio, 1340) is the
XLV] CHINA 307
the Singhalese accounts of the apostolic succession and contain
few eminent names with the exception of Asvaghosha, Nagar-
juna, Deva and Vasubandhu.
According to most schools there were only twenty-four
Patriarchs. These are said to have been foretold by the Buddha
and twenty -four is a usual number in such series1. The twenty-
fourth Patriarch Simha Bhikshu or Simhalaputra went to
Kashmir and suffered martyrdom there at the hands of Mihira-
kula2 without appointing a successor. But the school of Bodhi-
dharma continues the series, reckoning him as the twenty-
eighth, and the first of the Chinese Patriarchs. Now since the
three Patriarchs between the martyr and Bodhidharma are all
described as living in southern India, whereas such travellers
as Fa-Hsien obviously thought that the true doctrine was to be
found in northern India, and since Bodhidharma left India
altogether, it is probable that the later Patriarchs represent the
most important, because it professes to be translated (A.D. 472) from an Indian
work, which, however, is not in the Tibetan Canon and is not known in Sanskrit.
The Chinese text, as we have it, is probably not a translation from the Sanskrit, but
a compilation made in the sixth century which, however, acquired considerable
authority. See Maspero in Melanges d'Indianisme: Sylvain Levi, pp. 129-149, and
B.E.F.E.0. 1911, pp. 344-348. Other works are the Fo-tsu-t'ung-chi (Nanjio, 1661),
of Chih P'an (c, 1270), belonging to the T'ien-t'ai school, and the Ching-te-ch'uan-
teng-lu together with the Tsung-men-t'ung-yao-hsii-chi (Nanjio, 1524, 1526) both
belonging to the school of Bodhidharma. See also Nanjio, 1528, 1529. The common
list of Patriarchs is as follows: 1. Mahaka^yapa; 2. Ananda; 3. Sanavasa or 6ana-
kavasa; 4. Upagupta; 5. Dhritaka; 6. Micchaka. Here the name of Vasumitra is
inserted by some but omitted by others; 7. Buddhanandi ; 8. Buddhamitra; 9. ParsVa;
10. Punyayasas; 11. Asvaghosha; 12. Kapimala; 13. Nagarjuna; 14. Deva (Kana-
deva); 15. Rahulata; 16. Sanghanandi; 17. Sanghayasas; 18. Kumarata; 19. Jayata;
20. Vasubandhu; 21. Manura; 22. Haklena or Padmaratna; 23. Simha Bhikshu;
24. Basiasita; 25. Putriomita or Punyamitra; 26. Prajnatara; 27 (or 28, if Vasu
mitra is reckoned) Bodhidharma. Many of these names are odd and are only con
jectural restorations made from the Chinese transcription, for which see Nanjio, 1340.
Other lists of Patriarchs vary from that given above, partly because they represent
the traditions of other schools. It is not strange, for instance, if the Sarvastivadins
did not recognize Nagarjuna as a Patriarch. Two of their lists have been preserved
by Seng-yu (Nanjio, 1476) who wrote about 520. Some notes on the Patriarchs and
reproductions of Chinese pictures representing them will be found in Dore", pp. 244 ff.
It is extremely curious that Asvaghosha is represented as a woman.
1 It is found, for instance, in the lists of the Jain Tirthankaras and in some
accounts of the Buddhas and of the Avataras of Vishnu.
2 See Watters, Yuan Chwang, p. 290. But the dates offer some difficulty, for
Mihirakula, the celebrated Hun chieftain, is usually supposed to have reigned about
510-540 A.D. Taranatha (Schiefner, p. 95) speaks of a martyr called Malikabuddhi.
See, too, ib. p. 306.
308 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH,
spiritual genealogy of some school which was not the Church
as established at Nalanda1.
It will be convenient to summarize briefly here the history
of Bodhidharma's school. Finding that his doctrines were not
altogether acceptable to the Emperor Wu-Ti (who did not relish
being told that his pious exertions were vain works of no value)
he retired to Lo-yang and before his death designated as his
successor Hui-k'o. It is related of Hui-k'o that when he first
applied for instruction he could not attract Bodhidharma's
attention and therefore stood before the sage's door during a
whole winter night until the snow reached his knees. Bodhi-
dharma indicated that he did not think this test of endurance
remarkable. Hui-k'o then took a knife, cut off his own arm and
presented it to the teacher who accepted him as a pupil and
ultimately gave him the insignia of the Patriarchate — a robe
and bowl. He taught for thirty-four years and is said to have
mixed freely with the lowest and most debauched reprobates.
His successors were Seng-ts'an, Tao-hsin, Hung-jen, and Hui-
neng2 who died in 713 and declined to nominate a successor,
saying that the doctrine was well established. The bowl of
Bodhidharma was buried with him. Thus the Patriarch was not
willing to be an Erastian head of the Church and thought the
Church could get on without him. The object of the Patriarchate
was simply to insure the correct transmission from teacher to
scholar of certain doctrines, and this precaution was especially
necessary in sects which rejected scriptural authority and relied
on personal instruction. So soon as there were several competent
teachers handing on the tradition such a safeguard was felt to
be unnecessary.
That this feeling was just is shown by the fact that the
school of Bodhidharma is still practically one in teaching. But
its small regard for scripture and insistence on oral instruction
caused the principal monasteries to regard themselves as centres
with an apostolic succession of their own and to form divisions
which were geographical rather than doctrinal. They are often
1 It is clear that the school of Valabhi was to some extent a rival of Nalanda.
2 For a portrait of Hui-neng see Kokka, No. 297. The names of Bodhidharma's
successors are in Chinese characters jj ?lj, f!|^5|l > Islfe 5
XLV] CHINA 309
called school (tsung), but the term is not correct, if it implies
that the difference is similar to that which separates the
Ch'an-tsung and Lii-tsung or schools of contemplation and of
discipline. Even in the lifetime of Hui-neng there seems to
have been a division, for he is sometimes called the Patriarch
of the South, Shen-Hsiu1 being recognized as Patriarch of the
North. But all subsequent divisions of the Ch'an-tsung trace
their lineage to Hui-neng. Two of his disciples founded two
schools called Nan Yueh and Ch'ing Yuan2 and between the
eighth and tenth centuries these produced respectively two and
three subdivisions, known together as Wu-tsung or five schools.
They take their names from the places where their founders
dwelt and are the schools of Wei-Yang, Lin-Chi, Ts'ao-Tung,
Yun-Men and Fa-Yen3. This is the chronological order, but the
most important school is the Lin-Chi, founded by I-Hsuan4,
who resided on the banks of a river5 in Chih-li and died in 867.
It is not easy to discriminate the special doctrines6 of the
Lin-Chi for it became the dominant form of the school to such
an extent that other variants are little more than names. But
it appears to have insisted on the transmission of spiritual truths
not only by oral instruction but by a species of telepathy between
teacher and pupil culminating in sudden illumination. At the
present day the majority of Chinese monasteries profess to
belong to the Ch'an-tsung and it has encroached on other schools.
Thus it is now accepted on the sacred island of P'uto which
originally followed the Lii-tsung.
Although the Ch'an school did not value the study of
scripture as part of the spiritual life, yet it by no means neglected
letters and can point to a goodly array of ecclesiastical authors,
Much biographical inf onnation respecting this and other
schools will be found in Dore, vols. vn and vm. But there is little to record in the
way of events or literary and doctrinal movements.
5 Lin-Chi means coming to the ford. Is this an allusion to the Pali expression
Sotapanno? The name appears in Japanese as Rinzai. Most educated Chinese
monks when asked as to their doctrine say they belong to the Lin-Chi.
6 They are generally called the three mysteries (Hsiian) and the three important
points ( Yao), but I have not been able to obtain any clear explanation of what they
mean. See Edkins, Chinese Buddhism, p. 164, and Hackmann, I.e. p. 250.
310 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
extending down to modern times1. More than twenty of their
treatises have been admitted into the Tripitaka. Several of
these are historical and discuss the succession of Patriarchs and
abbots, but the most characteristic productions of the sect are
collections of aphorisms, usually compiled by the disciples of
a teacher who himself committed nothing to writing2.
In opposition to the Contemplative School or Tsung-men,
all the others are sometimes classed together as Chiao-men.
This dichotomy perhaps does no more than justice to the im
portance of Bodhidharma's school, but is hardly scientific, for,
whatever may be the numerical proportion, the other schools
differ from one another as much as they differ from it. They
all agree in recognizing the authority not only of a founder but
of a special sacred book. We may treat first of one which, like
the Tsung-men, belongs specially to the Buddhism of the Far
East and is both an offshoot of the Tsung-men and a protest
against it — there being nothing incompatible in this double
relationship. This is the T'ien-t'ai3 school which takes its name
from a celebrated monastery in the province of Che-kiang. The
founder of this establishment and of the sect was called Chih-K'ai
or Chih-I4 and followed originally Bodhidharma's teaching, but
ultimately rejected the view that contemplation is all-sufficient,
while still claiming to derive his doctrine from Nagarjuna. He
had a special veneration for the Lotus Sutra and paid attention
to ceremonial. He held that although the Buddha-mind is
present in all living beings, yet they do not of themselves come
to the knowledge and use of it, so that instruction is necessary
to remove error and establish true ideas. The phrase Chih-kuan5
is almost the motto of the school : it is a translation of the two
words Samatha and Vipassana, taken to mean calm and insight.
1 Wieger, Bouddhisme Chinois, p. 108, states that 230 works belonging to this
sect were published under the Manchu dynasty.
2 See e.g. Nanjio, Cat. 1527, 1532.
3 ^fjj, jqf . Tendai in Japanese. It is also called in China £J!jl Fa-hua.
* ^HK* Als°oftensPokenofasChih-che-ta-shih^^^gj]}. Officially
he is often styled the fourth Patriarch of the school. See Dore, p. 449.
6 JjLraSi* ^n ^a^ Buddhism also, especially in later works, Samatha and
Vipassana may be taken as a compendium of the higher life as they are respectively
the results of the two sets of religious exercises called Adhicitta and Adhipanna.
(See Ang. Nik. in. 88.)
XLV] CHINA 311
The T'ien-Tai is distinguished by its many-sided and
almost encyclopaedic character. Chih-I did not like the exclusive-
ness of the Contemplative School. He approved impartially
of ecstasy, literature, ceremonial and discipline: he wished to
find a place for everything and a point of view from which every
doctrine might be admitted to have some value. Thus he divided
the teaching of the Buddha into five periods, regarded as
progressive not contradictory, and expounded respectively in
(a) the Hua-yen Sutra; (6) the Hinayana Sutras; (c) the Leng-
yen-ching; (d) the Prajna-paramita; (e) the Lotus Sutra which
is the crown, quintessence and plenitude of all Buddhism. He
also divided religion into eight parts1, sometimes counted as
four, the latter half of the list being the more important. The
names are collection, progress, distinction and completion.
These terms indicate different ways of looking at religion, all
legitimate but not equally comprehensive or just in perspective.
By collection is meant the Hinayana, the name being apparently
due to the variously catalogued phenomena which occupy the
disciple in the early stages of his progress : the scriptures, divisions
of the universe, states of the human minds and so on. Progress
(T'ung, which might also be rendered as transition or communi
cation) is applicable to the Hina and Mahayana alike and regards
the religious life as a series of stages rising from the state of an
unconverted man to that of a Buddha. Pieh, or distinction, is
applicable only to the Mahayana and means the special excel
lences of a Bodhisattva. Yuan, completeness or plenitude, is
the doctrine of the Lotus which embraces all aspects of religion.
In a similar spirit of synthesis and conciliation Chih-I uses
Nagarj una's view that truth is not of one kind. From the stand
point of absolute truth all phenomena are void or unreal; on
the other hand they are indubitably real for practical purposes.
More just is the middle view which builds up the religious
character. It sees that all phenomena both exist and do not
exist and that thought cannot content itself with the hypothesis
either of their real existence or of the void. Chih-I's teaching as
. In Chinese jgf, j£, ft®, ^^, £, jg, JJ||, ft . Tun,
Chien, Pi-mi, Pu-ting, Tsang, T'ung, Pieh, Yuan. See Nanjio, 1568, and for very
different explanations of these obscure words, Edkins, Chinese Buddhism, p. 182,
and Richard's New Testament of Higher Buddhism, p. 41. Masson-Oursel in J.A.
1915, i. p. 305.
312 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
to the nature of the Buddha is almost theistic. It regards the
fundamental (pen) Buddhahood as not merely the highest reality
but as constant activity exerting itself for the good of all
beings. Distinguished from this fundamental Buddhahood is
the derivative Buddhahood or trace (chi) left by the Buddha
among men to educate them. There has been considerable
discussion in the school as to the relative excellence of the pen
and the chi1.
The T'ien-T'ai school is important, not merely for its
doctrines, but as having produced a great monastic establish
ment and an illustrious line of writers. In spite of the orders
of the Emperor who wished to retain him at Nanking, Chih-I
retired to the highlands of Che-Kiang and twelve monasteries
still mark various spots where he is said to have resided. He
had some repute as an author, but more as a preacher. His
words were recorded by his disciple Kuan-Ting2 and in this
way have been preserved two expositions of the Lotus and a
treatise on his favourite doctrine of Chih-Kuan which together
are termed the San-ta-pu, or Three Great Books. Similar
spoken expositions of other sutras are also preserved. Some
smaller treatises on his chief doctrines seem to be works of his
own pen3. A century later Chan -Jan4, who is reckoned the
ninth Patriarch of the T'ien-t'ai school, composed commentaries
on the Three Great Books as well as some short original works.
During the troubled period of the Five Dynasties, the T'ien-t'ai
monasteries suffered severely and the sacred books were almost
lost. But the school had a branch in Korea and a Korean priest
called Ti-Kuan5 re-established it in China. It continued to
contribute literature to the Tripitaka until 1270 but after the
tenth century its works, though numerous, lose their distinctive
character and are largely concerned with magical formulae and
the worship of Amida.
The latter is the special teaching of the Pure Land school,
also known as the Lotus school, or the Short Cut6. It is indeed
1 and . 3 . The books are Nanjio, Nos. 1534, 1536, 1538.
8 Among them is the compendium for beginners called Hsiao-chih-kuan,
(Nanjio, 1540), partly translated in Beat's Catena, pp. 251 ff.
XLV] CHINA 313
a short cut to salvation, striking unceremoniously across all
systems, for it teaches that simple faith in Amitabha (Amida)
and invocation of his name can take the place of moral and
intellectual endeavour. Its popularity is in proportion to its
facility: its origin is ancient, its influence universal, but perhaps
for this very reason its existence as a corporation is somewhat
indistinct. It is also remarkable that though the Chinese
Tripitaka contains numerous works dedicated to the honour of
Amitabha, yet they are not described as composed by members
of the Pure Land school but appear to be due to authors of all
schools1.
The doctrine, if not the school, was known in China before
186, in which year there died at Lo-yang, a monk of the Yiieh-
chih called Lokakshi, who translated the longer Sukhavati-
vyuha. So far as I know, there is no reason for doubting these
statements2. The date is important for the history of doctrine,
since it indicates that the sutra existed in Sanskrit some time
previously. Another translation by the Parthian An Shih-Kao,
whose activity falls between 148 and 170 A.D. may have been
earlier and altogether twelve translations were made before
1000 A.D. of which five are extant3. Several of the earlier
translators were natives of Central Asia, so it is permissible
to suppose that the sutra was esteemed there. The shorter
Sukhavati-vyuha was translated by Kumarajiva (c. 402) and
later by Hsiian Chuang. The Amitayurdhyanasutra was trans
lated by Kalayasas about 424. These three books4 are the
principal scriptures of the school and copies of the greater
Sukhavati may still be found in almost every Chinese monastery,
whatever principles it professes.
Hui Yuan5 who lived from 333 to 416 is considered as the
founder of the school. He was in his youth an enthusiastic
1 The list of Chinese authors in Nanjio's Catalogue, App. in, describes many as
belonging to the T'ien-t'ai, Avatamsaka or Dhyana schools, but none as belonging
to the Ching-T'u.
2 For the authorities, see Nanjio, p. 381.
3 Nanjio, p. 10, note.
4 They are all translated in S.B.E. XLIX. The two former exist in Sanskrit.
The Amitayurdhyana is known only in the Chinese translation. They are called
in Chinese ffi ' and
314 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Taoist and after he turned Buddhist is said to have used the
writings of Chuang-tzu to elucidate his new faith. He founded
a brotherhood, and near the monastery where he settled was
a pond in which lotus flowers grew, hence the brotherhood was
known as the White Lotus school1. For several centuries2 it
enjoyed general esteem. Pan-chou, one of its Patriarchs, re
ceived the title of Kuo-shih about 770 A.D., and Shan-tao, who
flourished about 650 and wrote commentaries, was one of its
principal literary men3. He popularized the doctrine of the Pai-
tao or White Way, that is, the narrow bridge leading to Paradise
across which Amitabha will guide the souls of the faithful. But
somehow the name of White Lotus became connected with
conspiracy and rebellion until it was dreaded as the title of a
formidable secret society, and ceased to be applied to the school
as a whole. The teaching and canonical literature of the Pure
Land school did not fall into disrepute but since it was admitted
by other sects to be, if not the most excellent way, at least a
permissible short cut to heaven, it appears in modern times less
as a separate school than as an aspect of most schools4. The
simple and emotional character of Amidism, the directness of
its "Come unto me," appeal so strongly to the poor and un
educated, that no monastery or temple could afford to neglect it.
Two important Indian schools were introduced into China
in the sixth and seventh centuries respectively and flourished
until about 900 A.D. when they began to decay. These are the
Chii-she-tsung and Fa-hsiang-tsung5. The first name is merely
a Chinese transcription of the Sanskrit Ko'sa and is due to the
fact that the chief authority of the school is the Abhidharmakosa-
1 0 3ifltt • ^e early history of the school is related in a work called Lien-
she-kao-hsien-ch'uan, said to date from the Tsin dynasty. See for some account of
the early worthies, Dore, pp. 280 ff. and 457 ff. Their biographies contain many
visions and miracles.
2 Apparently at least until 1042. See De Groot, Sectarianism, p. 163. The dated
inscriptions in the grottoes of Lung-men indicate that the cult of Amitabha flourished
especially from 647 to 715. See Chavannes, Mission. ArcheoL Tome I, deuxieme partie,
p. 545.
and
4 See for instance the tract called Hsiian-Fo-P'u fjft jft and translated by
Richard under the title of A Guide to Buddhahood, pp. 97 ff.
XLV] CHINA 315
sastra of Vasubandhu1. This work expounds the doctrine of the
Sarvastivadins, but in a liberal spirit and without ignoring other
views. Though the Chii-she-tsung represented the best scholastic
tradition of India more adequately than any other Chinese sect,
yet it was too technical and arid to become popular and both
in China and Japan (where it is known as Kusha-shu) it was a
system of scholastic philosophy rather than a form of religion.
In China it did not last many centuries.
The Fa-Hsiang school is similar inasmuch as it represented
Indian scholasticism and remained, though much esteemed,
somewhat academic. The name is a translation of Dharmalak-
shana and the school is also known as Tz'u-en-tsung2, and also
as Wei-shih-hsiang-chiao because its principal text-book is the
Ch'eng-wei-shih-lun3. This name, equivalent to Vidyamatra, or
Vijnanamatra, is the title of a work by Hsiian Chuang which
appears to be a digest of ten Sanskrit commentaries on a little
tract of thirty verses ascribed to Vasubandhu. As ultimate
authorities the school also recognizes the revelations made to
Asanga by Maitreya4 and probably the Mahayanasutralankara5
expresses its views. It claims as its founder Silabhadra the
teacher of Hsiian Chuang, but the latter was its real parent.
Closely allied to it but reckoned as distinct is the school called
the Hua-yen-tsung6 because it was based on the Hua-yen-ching
or Avatamsakasutra. The doctrines of this work and of Nagar-
juna may be conveniently if not quite correctly contrasted as
pantheistic and nihilistic. The real founder and first patriarch
was Tu-Fa-Shun who died in 640 but the school sometimes bears
the name of Hsien-Shou, the posthumous title of its third
Patriarch who contributed seven works to the Tripitaka7. It
1 See Waiters, On Yuan Chwang, I. 210, and also Takakusu, Journal of the Pali
Text Soc. 1905, p. 132.
2 /^[J@l7T? ' The nftme re^ers not to tne doctrines of the school, but to
Tz'u-en-tai-shih, a title given to Kuei-chi the disciple of Hsiian Chuang who was
one of its principal teachers and taught at a monastery called Tz'u-en.
8 jjScPfUHJcffif • See Nanjio, Cat. Nos. 1197 and 1215.
4 See Watters, On Yuan Chtvang, I. pp. 355 ff.
6 Ed. and transl. by Sylvain Levi, 1911.
7 His name when alive was Fa-tsang. See Nanjio, Cat. p. 4G2, and Dor4, 450.
The Empress Wu patronized him.
E. III. 2 1
316 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
began to wane in the tenth century but has a distinguished
literary record.
The Lii-tsung or Vinaya school1 was founded by Tao Hsiian
(595-667). It differs from those already mentioned inasmuch
as it emphasizes discipline and asceticism as the essential part
of the religious life. Like the T'ien-t'ai this school arose in China.
It bases itself on Indian authorities, but it does not appear that
in thus laying stress on the Vinaya it imitated any Indian sect,
although it caught the spirit of the early Hinayana schools.
The numerous works of the founder indicate a practical tem
perament inclined not to mysticism or doctrinal subtlety but
to biography, literary history and church government. Thus he
continued the series called Memoirs of Eminent Monks and
wrote on the family and country of the Buddha. He compiled
a catalogue of the Tripitaka, as it was in his time, and collec
tions of extracts, as well as of documents relating to the con
troversies between Buddhists and Taoists2. Although he took
as his chief authority the Dharmagupta Vinaya commonly
known as the Code in Four Sections, he held, like most Chinese
Buddhists, that there is a complete and perfect doctrine which
includes and transcends all the vehicles. But he insisted,
probably as a protest against the laxity or extravagance of
many monasteries, that morality and discipline are the in
dispensable foundation of the religious life. He was highly
esteemed by his contemporaries and long after his death the
Emperor Mu-tsung (821-5) wrote a poem in his honour. The
school is still respected and it is said that the monks of its
principal monastery, Pao-hua-shan in Kiangsu, are stricter
and more learned than any other.
The school called Chen-yen (in Japanese Shin-gon), true
word, or Mi-chiao3, secret teaching, equivalent to the Sanskrit
Mantrayana or Tantrayana, is the latest among the recognized
divisions of Chinese Buddhism since it first made its appearance
in the eighth century. The date, like that of the translation of
the Amida scriptures is important, for the school was introduced
1 lifiTj? • Also called Nan Shan or Southern mountain school from a locality
in Shensi.
8 iJL *1L • Nanjio, Cat. 1493, 1469, 1470, 1120, 1481, 1483, 1484, 1471.
8 ittWorS?^.
XLV] CHINA 317
from India and it follows that its theories and practices were
openly advocated at this period and probably were not of repute
much earlier. It is akin to the Buddhism of Tibet and may be
described in its higher aspects as an elaborate and symbolic
pantheism, which represents the one spirit manifesting himself
in a series of emanations and reflexes. In its popular and un
fortunately commoner aspect it is simply polytheism, fetichism
and magic. In many respects it resembles the Pure Land school.
Its principal deity (the word is not inaccurate) is Vairocana,
analogous to Amitabha, and probably like him a Persian sun god
in origin. It is also a short cut to salvation, for, without denying
the efficiency of more laborious and ascetic methods, it promises
to its followers a similar result by means of formulae and cere
monies. Like the Pure Land school it has become in China not
so much a separate corporation as an aspect, and often the
most obvious and popular aspect, of all Buddhist schools.
It claims Vajrabodhi as its first Patriarch. He was a monk
of the Brahman caste who arrived in China from southern
India1 in 719 and died in 730 after translating several Tantras
and spells. His companion and successor was Amoghavajra of
whose career something has already been said. The fourth
Patriarch, Hui Kuo, was the instructor of the celebrated Japanese
monk Kobo Daishi who established the school in Japan under
the name of Shingon2.
The principal scripture of this sect is the Ta-jih-ching or
sutra of the Sun-Buddha3. A distinction is drawn between
exoteric and esoteric doctrine (the "true word") and the various
phases of Buddhist thought are arranged in ten classes. Of
these the first nine are merely preparatory, but in the last or
esoteric phase, the adept becomes a living Buddha and receives
full intuitive knowledge. In this respect the Tan trie school
resembles the teaching of Bodhidharma but not in detail. It
teaches that Vairocana is the whole world, which is divided into
Garbhadhatu (material) and Vajradhatu (indestructible), the
two together forming Dharmadhatu. The manifestations of
1 From Mo-lai-ye, which seems to mean the extreme south of India. Dore gives
some Chinese legends about him, p. 299.
2 For an appreciative criticism of the sect as known in Japan, see Anesaki's
Buddhist Art, chap. in.
3 Nanjio, No. 530. Nos. 533, 534 and 1039 are also important texts of this sect.
318 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [en.
Vairocana's body to himself — that is Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
— are represented symbolically by diagrams of several circles1.
But it would be out of place to dwell further on the dogmatic
theology of the school, for I cannot discover that it was ever
of importance in China whatever may have been its influence
in Japan. What appealed only too powerfully to Chinese
superstition was the use of spells, charms and magical formulae
and the doctrine that since the universe is merely idea, thoughts
and facts are equipollent. This doctrine (which need not be the
outcome of metaphysics, but underlies the magical practices
of many savage tribes) produced surprising results when applied
to funeral ceremonies, which in China have always formed the
major part of religion, for it was held that ceremonial can repre
sent and control the fortunes of the soul, that is to say that if
a ceremony represents figuratively the rescue of a soul from a
pool of blood, then the soul which is undergoing that punish
ment will be delivered. It was not until the latter part of the
eighth century that such theories and ceremonies were accepted
by Chinese Buddhism, but they now form a large part of it.
Although in Japan Buddhism continued to produce new
schools until the thirteenth century, no movement in China
attained this status after about 730, and Lamaism, though its
introduction produced considerable changes in the north, is
not usually reckoned as a Tsung. But numerous societies and
brotherhoods arose especially in connection with the Pure Land
school and are commonly spoken of as sects. They differ from
the schools mentioned above in having more or less the character
of secret societies, sometimes merely brotherhoods like the
Freemasons but sometimes political in their aims. Among those
whose tenets are known that which has most religion and least
politics in its composition appears to be the Wu-wei-chiao2,
founded about 1620 by one Lo-tsu3 who claimed to have received
a revelation contained in five books. It is strictly vegetarian
1 In the T'ien-t'ai and Chen-yen schools, and indeed in Chinese Buddhism
generally, Dharma (Fa in Chinese) is regarded as cosmic law. Buddhas are the
visible expression of Dharma. Hence they are identified with it and the whole
process of cosmic evolution is regarded as the manifestation of Buddhahood.
. See the account by Edkins, Chinese Buddhism, pp. 271 ff.
XLV] CHINA 319
and antiritualistic, objecting to the use of images, incense and
candles in worship.
There are many other sects with a political tinge. The pro
clivity of the Chinese to guilds, corporations and secret societies
is well known and many of these latter have a religious basis.
All such bodies are under the ban of the Government, for they
have always been suspected with more or less justice of favouring
an ti -social or an ti -dynastic ideas. But, mingled with such
political aspirations, there is often present the desire for co
operation in leading privately a religious life which, if made
public, would be hampered by official restrictions. The most
celebrated of these sects is the White Lotus. Under the Yuan
dynasty it was anti-Mongol, and prepared the way for the
advent of the Ming. When the Ming dynasty in its turn
became decadent, we hear again of the White Lotus coupled
with rebellion, and similarly after the Manchus had passed their
meridian, its beautiful but ill-omened name frequently appears.
It seems clear that it is an ancient and persistent society with
some idea of creating a millennium, which becomes active when
the central government is weak and corrupt. Not unlike the
White Lotus is the secret society commonly known as the Triad
but called by its members the Heaven and Earth Association.
The T'ai-p'ing sect, out of which the celebrated rebellion arose,
was similar but its inspiration seems to have come from a
perversion of Christianity. The Tsai-Li sect1 is still prevalent
in Peking, Tientsin, and the province of Shantung. I should
exceed the scope of my task if I attempted to examine these
sects in detail2, for their relation to Buddhism is often doubtful.
Most of them combine with it Taoist and other beliefs and some
of them expect a Messiah or King of Righteousness who is
usually identified with Maitreya. It is easy to see how at this
point hostility to the existing Government arises and provokes
not unnatural resentment3.
1 IJlE ?£ • See Cnina Minion Year Book, 1896, p. 43.
2 For some account of them, see Stanton, The Triad Society, White Lotus
Society, etc., 1900, reprinted from China Review, vols. xxi, xxn, and De Groot,
Sectarianism and religious persecution in China, vol. i. pp. 149-259.
3 The Republic of China has not changed much from the ways of the Empire.
The Peking newspapers of June 17, 1914, contain a Presidential Edict stating that
"the invention of heretical religions by ill-disposed persons is strictly prohibited
by law," and that certain religious societies are to be suppressed.
320 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH. XLV
Recently several attempts have been made to infuse life
and order into Chinese Buddhism. Japanese influence can be
traced in most of them and though they can hardly be said to
represent a new school, they attempt to go back to Mahayanism
as it was when first introduced into China. The Hinayana is
considered as a necessary preliminary to the Mahayana and
the latter is treated as existing in several schools, among which
are included the Pure Land school, though the Contemplative
and Tantric schools seem not to be regarded with favour. They
are probably mistrusted as leading to negligence and super
stition1.
1 See, for an account of such a reformed sect, 0. Francke, " Ein Buddhistischer
Reform versuch in China," T'oung Poo, 1909, p. 567.
CHAPTER XLVI
CHINA (continued)
CHINESE BUDDHISM AT THE PRESENT DAY
THE Buddhism treated of in this chapter does not include
Lamaism, which being identical with the religion of Tibet and
Mongolia is more conveniently described elsewhere. Ordinary
Chinese Buddhism and Lamaism are distinct, but are divided
not so much by doctrine as by the race, language and usages of
the priests. Chinese Buddhism has acquired some local colour,
but it is still based on the teaching and practice imported from
India before the Yuan dynasty, whereas Lamaist tradition is
not direct: it represents Buddhism as received not from India
but from Tibet. Some holy places, such as P'uto and Wu-t'ai-
shan are frequented by both Lamas and Chinese monks, and
Tibetan prayers and images may sometimes be seen in Chinese
temples, but as a rule the two divisions do not coalesce.
Chinese Buddhism has a physiognomy and language of its
own. The Paraphrase of the Sacred Edict in a criticism, which,
though unfriendly, is not altogether inaccurate, says that
Buddhists attend only to the heart, claim that Buddha can be
found in the heart, and aim at becoming Buddhas. This sounds
strange to those who are acquainted only with the Buddhism of
Ceylon and Burma, but is intelligible as a popular statement of
Bodhidharma's doctrine. Heart1 means the spiritual nature of
man, essentially identical with the Buddha nature and capable of
purification and growth so that all beings can become Buddhas.
But in the Far East the doctrine became less pantheistic and
more ethical than the corresponding Indian ideas. The Buddha
in the heart is the internal light and monitor rather than the
universal spirit. Amida, Kuan-yin and Ti-tsang with other
radiant and benevolent spirits have risen from humanity and
will help man to rise as they have done. Chinese Buddhists do
not regard Amida' s vows as an isolated achievement. All
1 ^Cj) . For a specimen of devotional literature about the heart see the little
tract translated in China Branch, B.A.S. xxm. pp. 9-22.
322 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
Boddhisattvas have done the same and carried out their resolu
tion in countless existences. Like the Madonna these gracious
figures appeal directly to the emotions and artistic senses and
their divinity offers no difficulty, for in China Church and State
alike have always recognized deification as a natural process.
One other characteristic of all Far Eastern Buddhism may be
noticed. The Buddha is supposed to have preached many creeds
and codes at different periods of his life and each school supposes
its own to be the last, best and all inclusive.
As indicated elsewhere, the essential part of the Buddhist
Church is the monkhood and it is often hard to say if a Chinese
layman is a Buddhist or not. It will therefore be best to de
scribe briefly the organization and life of a monastery, then the
services performed there and to some extent attended by the
laity, and thirdly the rites performed by monks on behalf of
the laity, especially funeral ceremonies.
The Chinese Tripitaka contains no less than five recensions
of the Vinaya, and the later pilgrims who visited India made
it their special object to obtain copies of the most correct
and approved code. But though the theoretical value of these
codes is still admitted, they have for practical purposes been
supplemented by other manuals of which the best known are
the Fan-wang-ching or Net of Brahma1 and the Pai-chang-
ts'ung-lin-ch'ing-kuei or Rules of Purity of the Monasteries of
Pai Chang.
The former is said to have been translated in A.D. 406 by
Kumarajiva and to be one chapter of a larger Sanskrit work.
Some passages of it, particularly the condemnation of legislation
which forbids or imposes conditions on the practice of Buddhism2,
read as if they had been composed in China rather than India,
and its whole attitude towards the Hinayanist Vinaya as
something inadequate and superseded, can hardly have been
usual in India or China even in the time of I-Ching (700 A.D.).
Nothing is known of the Indian original, but it certainly was not
the Brahmajalasutta of the Pali Canon3. Though the translation
For text translation and commentary, see De Groot, Code du
MaMydna en Chine, 1893, see also Nanjio, No. 1087.
2 De Groot, p. 81.
3 The identity of name seems due to a similarity of metaphor. The Brahmajala
sutta is a net of many meshes to catch all forms of error. The Fan-wang-ching
XLVI] CHINA 323
is ascribed to so early a date, there is no evidence that the work
carried weight as an authority before the eighth century.
Students of the Vinaya, like I-Ching, ignore it. But when the
scholarly endeavour to discover the most authentic edition of
the Vinaya began to flag, this manual superseded the older
treatises. Whatever external evidence there may be for
attributing it to Kumarajiva, its contents suggest a much later
date and there is no guarantee that a popular manual may not
have received additions. The rules are not numbered consecutively
but as 1-10 and 1-48, and it may be that the first class is older
than the second. In many respects it expounds a late and even
degenerate form of Buddhism for it contemplates not only a
temple ritual (including the veneration of images and sacred
books), but also burning the head or limbs as a religious practice.
But it makes no allusion to salvation through faith in Amitabha
and says little about services to be celebrated for the dead1.
Its ethical and disciplinary point of view is dogmatically
Mahayanist and similar to that of the Bodhicaryavatara. The
Hinayana is several times denounced2 and called heretical, but,
setting aside a little intolerance and superstition, the teaching
of this manual is truly admirable and breathes a spirit of active
charity — a desire not only to do no harm but to help and rescue.
It contains a code of ten primary and forty -eight secondary
commandments, worded as prohibitions, but equivalent to
positive injunctions, inasmuch as they blame the neglect of
various active duties. The ten primary commandments are
called Pratimoksha and he who breaks them is Parajika3, that
is to say, he ipso facto leaves the road leading to Buddhahood
and is condemned to a long series of inferior births. They pro
hibit taking life, theft, unchastity, lying, trading in alcoholic
liquors, evil speaking, boasting, avarice, hatred and blasphemy.
Though infraction of the secondary commandments has less
permanently serious consequence, their observance is indis
pensable for all monks. Many of them are amplifications of the
compares the varieties of Buddhist opinion to the meshes of a net (De Groot, I.e.
p. 26), but the net is the all-inclusive common body of truth.
1 See, however, sections 20 and 39.
2 See especially De Groot, I.e. p. 68, where the reading of the Abhidharma is
forbidden. Though this name is not confined to the Hinayana, A-pi-t'an in Chinese
seems to be rarely used as a title of Mahayanist books.
3 The Indian words are transliterated in the Chinese text.
324 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
ten major commandments and are directed against indirect and
potential sins, such as the possession of weapons. The Bhikshu
may not eat flesh, drink alcohol, set forests on fire or be con
nected with any business injurious to others, such as the slave
trade. He is warned against gossip, sins of the eye, foolish
practices such as divination and even momentary forgetfulness
of his high calling and duties. But it is not sufficient that he
should be self -concentrated and without offence. He must
labour for the welfare and salvation of others, and it is a sin
to neglect such duties as instructing the ignorant, tending the
sick, hospitality, saving men or animals from death or slavery,
praying1 for all in danger, exhorting to repentance, sympathy
with all living things. A number of disciplinary rules prescribe
a similarly high standard for daily monastic life. The monk must
be strenuous and intelligent; he must yield obedience to his
superiors and set a good example to the laity : he must not teach
for money or be selfish in accepting food and gifts. As for creed
he is strictly bidden to follow and preach the Mahayana: it
is a sin to follow or preach the doctrine of the Sravakas2 or
read their books or not aspire to ultimate Buddhahood. Very
remarkable are the injunctions to burn one's limbs in honour
of Buddhas: to show great respect to copies of the scriptures
and to make vows. From another point of view the first and
forty-seventh secondary commandments are equally remarkable :
the first bids officials discharge their duties with due respect
to the Church and the other protests against improper legis
lation.
The Fan-wang-ching is tl*> most important and most
authoritative statement of the general principles regulating
monastic life in China. So far as my own observation goes, it
is known and respected in all monasteries. The Pai-chang-
ch'irig-kuei3 deals rather with the details of organization and
ritual and has not the same universal currency. It received the
1 More accurately reading the sutras on their behalf, but this exercise is practi
cally equivalent to intercessory prayer.
3 The full title is f . Pai Chang is apparently to be
taken as the name of the author, but it is the designation of a monastery used as a
personal name. See Hackmann in T'oung Pao, 1908, pp. 651-662. It is No. 1642 in
Nanjio's Catalogue. He says that it has been revised and altered.
XLVI] CHINA 325
approval of the Yuan dynasty1 and is still accepted as authori
tative in many monasteries and gives a correct account of their
general practice. It was composed by a monk of Kiang-si, who
died in 814 A.D. He belonged to the Ch'an school, but his rules
are approved by others. I will not attempt to summarize them,
but they include most points of ritual and discipline mentioned
below. The author indicates the relations which should prevail
between Church and State by opening his work with an account
of the ceremonies to be performed on the Emperor's birthday,
and similar occasions.
Large Buddhist temples almost always form part of a
monastery, but smaller shrines, especially in towns, are often
served by a single priest. The many-storeyed towers called
pagodas which are a characteristic beauty of Chinese landscapes,
are in their origin stupas erected over relics but at the present
day can hardly be called temples or religious buildings, for they
are not places of worship and generally owe their construction
to the dictates of Feng-shui or geomancy. Monasteries are
usually built outside towns and by preference on high ground,
whence shan or mountain has come to be the common designa
tion of a convent, whatever its position. The sites of these
establishments show the deep feeling of cultivated Chinese for
nature and their appreciation of the influence of scenery on
temper, an appreciation which connects them spiritually with
the psalms of the monks and nuns preserved in the Pali Canon.
The architecture is not self-assertive. Its aim is not to produce
edifices complete and satisfying in their own proportions but
rather to harmonize buildings with landscape, to adjust courts
and pavilions to the slope of the hillside and diversify the groves
of fir and bamboo with shrines and towers as fantastic and yet
as natural as the mountain boulders. The reader who wishes
to know more of them should consult Johnston's Buddhist
China, a work which combines in a rare degree sound knowledge
and literary charm.
A monastery2 is usually a quadrangle surrounded by a wall.
1 See T'oung Pao, 1904, pp. 437 ff.
2 It i8 probable that the older Chinese monasteries attempted to reproduce the
arrangement of Nalanda and other Indian establishments. Unfortunately Hsiian
Chuang and the other pilgrims give us few details as to the appearance of Indian
monasteries: they tell us, however, that they were surrounded by a wall, that the
monks' quarters were near this wall, that there were halls where choral services
326 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
Before the great gate, which faces south, or in the first court
is a tank, spanned by a bridge, wherein grows the red lotus and
tame fish await doles of biscuit. The sides of the quadrangle
contain dwelling rooms, refectories, guest chambers, store
houses, a library, printing press and other premises suitable to
a learned and pious foundation. The interior space is divided
into two or three courts, bordered by a veranda. In each court
is a hall of worship or temple, containing a shelf or alcove on
which are set the sacred images: In front of them stands a table,
usually of massive wood, bearing vases of flowers, bowls for
incense sticks and other vessels. The first temple is called the
Hall of the Four Great Kings and the figures in it represent
beings who are still in the world of transmigration and have not
yet attained Buddhahood. They include gigantic images of the
Four Kings, Maitreya, the Buddha designate of the future, and
Wei-to1, a military Bodhisattva sometimes identified with Indra.
Kuan-ti, the Chinese God of War, is often represented in this
building. The chief temple, called the Precious Hall of the Great
Hero2, is in the second court and contains the principal images.
Very commonly there are nine figures on either side representing
eighteen disciples of the Buddha and known as the Eighteen
Lohan or Arhats3. Above the altar are one or more large gilt
were performed and that there were triads of images. But the Indian buildings had
three stories. See Chavannes, Memoir & sur les Eeligieux Eminents, 1894, p. 85.
1 jl|L[Jfj or Up!' For thia personage see the article in B.E.F.E.O. 1916.
No. 3, by Peri who identifies him with Wei, the general of the Heavenly Kings who
appeared to Tao Hsiian the founder of the Vinaya school and became popular as
a protecting deity of Buddhism. The name is possibly a mistaken transcription of
Skandha.
3 $S/JiL. See Levi and Chavannes' two articles in J.A. 1916, I and n, and
/l>|£ tx\i
Watters in J.R.A.S. 1898, p. 329, for an account of these personages. The original
number, still found in a few Chinese temples as well as in Korea, Japan and Tibet was
sixteen. Several late sutras con tain the idea that the Buddha entrusted the protection
of his religion to four or sixteen disciples and bade them not enter Nirvana but tarry
until the advent of Maitreya. The Ta-A-lo-han-nan-t'i-mi-to-lo-so-shuo-fa-chu-chi
(Nanjio, 1466) is an account of these sixteen disciples and of their spheres of in
fluence. The Buddha assigned to each a region within which it is his duty to guard
the faith. They will not pass from this life before the next Buddha comes. Pindola
is the chief of them. Nothing is known of the work cited except that it was translated
in 654 by Hsiian Chuang, who, according to Watters, used an earlier translation.
As the Arhats arc Indian personalities, and their spheres are mapped out from the
XLVI] CHINA 327
images. When there is only one it is usually Sakya-muni, but
more often there are three. Such triads are variously composed
and the monks often speak of them vaguely as the "three
precious ones," without seeming to attach much importance to
their identity1. The triad is loosely connected with the idea of
the three bodies of Buddha but this explanation does not always
apply and the central figure is sometimes 0-mi-to or Kuan-yin,
who are the principal recipients of the worship offered by the
laity. The latter deity has usually a special shrine at the back
of the main altar and facing the north door of the hall, in which
her merciful activity as the saviour of mankind is represented
in a series of statuettes or reliefs. Other Bodhisattvas such as
Ta-shih-chi (Mahasthamaprapta)and Ti-tsang also have separate
shrines in or at the side of the great hall2. The third hall contains
as a rule only small images. It is used for expounding the
scriptures and for sermons, if the monastery has a preacher, but
is set apart for the religious exercises of the monks rather than
the devotions of the laity. In very large monasteries there is a
fourth hall for meditation.
Monasteries are of various sizes and the number of monks is
not constant, for the peripatetic habit of early Buddhism is not
extinct: at one time many inmates may be absent on their
point of view of Indian geography, there can be no doubt that we have to do with
an Indian idea, imported into Tibet as well as into China where it became far more
popular than it had ever been in India. The two additional Arhats (who vary in
different temples, whereas the sixteen are fixed) appear to have been added during
the T'ang dynasty and, according to Watters, in imitation of a very select order of
merit instituted by the Emperor T'ai Tsung and comprising eighteen persons.
Chavannes and Levi see in them spirits borrowed from the popular pantheon.
Chinese ideas about the Lohans at the present day are very vague. Their Indian
origin has been forgotten and some of them have been provided with Chinese
biographies. (See Dore, p. 216.) One popular story says that they were eighteen
converted brigands.
In several large temples there are halls containing 500 images of Arhats, which
include many Chinese Emperors and one of them is often pointed out as being
Marco Polo. But this is very doubtful. See, however, Hackmann, Buddhismus,
p. 212.
1 Generally they consist of !§akya muni and two superhuman Buddhas or
Bodhisattvas, such as O-mi-to (Amitabha) and Yo-shih-fo (Vaidurya): Pi-lu-fo
(Vairocana) and Lo-shih-fo (Lochana): Wen-shu(Manjus-ri)and P'u-hsien(Samanta-
bhadra). The common European explanation that they are the Buddhas of the
past, present and future is not correct.
2 xCj7»ffi^^ anc^ ^tfi^C* ^°r ^e imP°r^ance °f Ti-tsang in popular Bud
dhism, which has perhaps been underestimated, see Johnston, chap. vni.
328 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [OH.
travels, at another there may be an influx of strangers. There
are also wandering monks who have ceased to belong to a
particular monastery and spend their time in travelling. A large
monastery usually contains from thirty to fifty monks, but a
very large one may have as many as three hundred. The majority
are dedicated by their parents as children, but some embrace
the career from conviction in their maturity and these, if few,
are the more interesting. Children who are brought up to be
monks receive a religious education in the monastery, wear
monastic clothes and have their heads shaved. At the age of
about seventeen they are formally admitted as members of
the order and undergo three ceremonies of ordination, which in
their origin represented stages of the religious life, but are now
performed by accumulation in the course of a few days. One
reason for this is that only monasteries possessing a licence from
the Government1 are allowed to hold ordinations and that
consequently postulants have to go some distance to be received
as full brethren and are anxious to complete the reception
expeditiously. At the first ordination the candidates are
accepted as novices: at the second, which follows a day or two
afterwards and corresponds to the upasampada, they accept
the robes and bowl and promise obedience to the rules of the
Pratimoksha. But these ceremonies are of no importance
compared with the third, called Shou Pu-sa-chieh2 or acceptance
of the Bodhisattva precepts, that is to say the fifty-eight
precepts enunciated in the Fan-wang-ching. The essential part
of this ordination is the burning of the candidate's head in from
three to eighteen places. The operation involves considerable
pain and is performed by lighting pieces of charcoal set in a
paste which is spread over the shaven skull.
Although the Fan-wang-ching does not mention this
burning of the head as part of ordination, yet it emphatically
enjoins the practice of burning the body or limbs, affirming that
those who neglect it are not true Bodhisattvas3. The prescrip
tion is founded on the twenty-second chapter of the Lotus4
which, though a later addition, is found in the Chinese transla-
1 I speak of the Old Imperial Government which came to an end in 1911.
2 Jibuti/Si- 3 De Groot' Lc' P- 5L
4 See Kern's translation, especially pp. 379 and 385.
XLVI] CHINA 329
tion made between 265 and 316 A.D.1 I-Ching discusses and
reprobates such practices. Clearly they were known in India
when he visited it, but not esteemed by the better Buddhists,
and the fact that they form no part of the ordinary Tibetan
ritual indicates that they had no place in the decadent Indian
Buddhism which in various stages of degeneration was intro
duced into Tibet2. In Korea and Japan branding is practised
but on the breast and arms rather than on the head.
It would appear then that burning and branding as part of
initiation were known in India in the early centuries of our era
but not commonly approved and that their general acceptance
in China was subsequent to the death of I-Ching in A.D. 7133.
This author clearly approved of nothing but the double ordina
tion as novice and full monk. The third ordination as Bodhi-
sattva must be part of the later phase inaugurated by Amogha
about 7504.
This practice is defended as a trial of endurance, but the
earlier and better monks were right in rejecting it, for in itself
it is an unedifying spectacle and it points to the logical con
clusion that, if it is meritorious to cauterize the head, it is still
more meritorious to burn the whole body. Cases of suicide by
burning appear to have occurred in recent years, especially in
the province of Che-Kiang5. The true doctrine of the Mahay ana
is that every one should strive for the happiness and salvation
of all beings, but this beautiful truth may be sadly perverted
1 See Nanjio, Nos. 138 and 139. The practice is not entirely unknown in the
legends of Pali Buddhism. In the Lokapannatti, a work existing in Burma but
perhaps translated from the Sanskrit, Asoka burns himself in honour of the Buddha,
but is miraculously preserved. See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 421 and 427.
2 See I-Tsing, Records of the Buddhist Religion, trans. Takakusu, pp. 195 ff.,
and for Tibet, Waddell, Buddhism of Tibet, p. 178, note 3, from which it appears
that it is only in Eastern Tibet and probably under Chinese influence that branding
is in vogue. For apparent instances in Central Asian art, see Grunwedel, Budd.
Kultst. p. 23, note 1.
3 Branding is common in many Hindu sects, especially the Madhvas, but is
reprobated by others.
4 It is condemned as part of the superstition of Buddhism in a memorial of
Han Yii, 819 A.D.
6 See those cited by De Groot, I.e. p. 228, and the article of MacGowan (Chinese
Recorder, 1888) there referred to. See also Hackmann, Buddhism as a Religion,
p. 228. Chinese sentiment often approves suicide, for instance, if committed by
widows or the adherents of defeated princes. For a Confucian instance, see Johnston,
p 341
330 BUDDHISM OUTSIDE INDIA [CH.
if it is held that the endurance of pain is in itself meritorious
and that such acquired merit can be transferred to others. Self-
torture, seems not to be unknown in the popular forms of
Chinese Buddhism1.
The postulant, after receiving these three ordinations,
becomes a full monk or Ho-shang2 and takes a new name. The
inmates of every monastery owe obedience to the abbot and
some abbots have an official position, being recognized by the
Government as representing the clergy of a prefecture, should
there be any business to be transacted with the secular authori
ties. But there is no real hierarchy outside the monasteries,
each of which is an isolated administrative unit. Within each
monastery due provision is made for discipline and administra
tion. The monks are divided into two classes, the Western who
are concerned with ritual and other purely religious duties and
the Eastern who are relatively secular and superintend the
business of the establishment3. This is often considerable for
the income is usually derived from estates, in managing which
the monks are assisted by a committee of laymen. Other laymen
of humbler status4 live around the monastery and furnish the
labour necessary for agriculture, forestry and whatever in
dustries the character of the property calls into being. As a rule
there is a considerable library. Even a sympathetic stranger will
often find that the monks deny its existence, because many
books have been destroyed in political troubles, but most
monasteries possess copies of the principal scriptures and a
complete Tripitaka, usually the edition of 1737, is not rare.
Whether the books are much read I do not know, but I have
observed that after the existence of the library has been ad-
1 See e.g. Du Bose, The, Dragon, Image and Demon, p. 265. I have never seen
such practices myself. See also Paraphrase of the Sacred Edict, vii. 8.
2 5|*H r^' This word» w^ich has no derivation in Chinese, is thought to be a
corruption of some vernacular form of the -Sanskrit Upadhyaya current in Central
Asia. See I-tsing, transl. Takakusu, p. 118. Upadhyaya became Vajjha (as is shown
by the modern Indian forms Ojha or Jha and Tamil Vaddyar). See Bloch in Indo-
Qermanischen Forschungen, vol. xxv. 1909, p. 239. Vajjha might become in Chinese
Ho-sho or Ho-shang for Ho sometimes represents the Indian syllable va. See
Julien, Methode, p. 109, and Eitel, Handbook of Chinese Buddhism, p. 195.
8 For details see Hackmann in T'oung Poo, 1908.
4 They apparently correspond to the monastic lay servants or "pure men"
described by I-Ching, chap, xxxii, as living as Nalanda.
XLVI] CHINA 331
mitted, it often proves difficult to find the key. There is also
a printing press, where are prepared notices and prayers, as
well as copies of popular sutras.
The food of the monks is strictly vegetarian, but they do not
go round with the begging bowl nor, except in a few monasteries,
is it forbid
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